FG launches AI Scaling Hub, unveils $7.5m challenge to drive AI adoption across MDAs

The Federal Government has launched the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub (NAISH) alongside the Scaling AI for Development (SAID) Challenge, backed by a $7.5 million commitment from the Gates Foundation, as it seeks to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across the public sector and build globally competitive AI companies.

The AI Scaling Hub, hosted by Lagos Business School in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Gates Foundation, is designed to bridge the gap between government institutions and Nigerian AI innovators by supporting the deployment of proven AI solutions at scale.

The Gates Foundation have commit up to $7.5 million over three years to support the initiative through technical assistance, computing infrastructure, policy support and partnerships that will help move AI innovations beyond pilot projects into nationwide implementation.

Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, said Nigeria’s ambition extends beyond developing AI applications to building an ecosystem capable of producing globally competitive technology companies.

“The only technology that has been extremely successful in Nigeria is financial technology, and many people assume it was simply because of brilliant founders. That was not the case,” Tijani said.

According to him, the success of Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem was driven by coordinated investments involving government, regulators, financial institutions, academia and development partners that created the infrastructure, policies and interoperability needed for innovation to flourish.

The minister called for collaboration among government, universities, researchers, technology companies and development partners to ensure Nigeria develops AI solutions tailored to local challenges rather than relying on imported technologies.

He said Nigeria intends to replicate the same ecosystem approach for artificial intelligence, particularly in healthcare, education and agriculture.

“The day we build the same kind of open ecosystem for health and education is the day we will begin to see AI innovations that are unique to Nigeria and capable of solving our own development challenges,” he said.

Tijani said the AI Scaling Hub forms part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s AI ecosystem through investments in digital infrastructure, research, computing capacity, fibre connectivity, national data platforms and skills development.

According to him, one of the government’s long-term objectives is to create an enabling environment capable of producing Nigerian AI unicorns.

“You cannot build a unicorn without building the ecosystem that supports it,” he said.

The SAID Challenge, launched alongside the hub, will identify mature AI solutions developed by Nigerian innovators and connect them with ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to address public sector challenges in healthcare, education, agriculture and public administration.

He said Successful innovators will undergo a competitive selection process before being paired with government institutions for deployment.

Olayinka David-West, dean of Lagos Business School and director of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub, said the initiative would help government agencies identify AI-ready problems while enabling startups to develop practical solutions with clear deployment pathways.

She said the hub would also provide access to local AI computing infrastructure, reducing developers’ dependence on foreign cloud service providers and lowering the cost of building AI models.

Uche Amaonwu, Nigeria country director at the Gates Foundation, said AI should be judged by its ability to improve development outcomes rather than the sophistication of the technology.

He noted that locally developed AI models are critical because global AI systems often fail to reflect African realities, languages and operating environments.

He said AI could improve learning outcomes through personalised education, strengthen maternal healthcare and expand access to agricultural finance by improving data-driven credit assessment.

He, however, noted that scaling AI would require more than technology, pointing to affordable devices, reliable internet connectivity, quality datasets, supportive regulation and greater public trust as critical enablers.

The minister assured that innovators participating in the programme would receive free access to the national AI computing infrastructure during the initial phase, significantly reducing the cost of training AI models.

Stakeholders said the success of the initiative would ultimately depend on Nigeria’s ability to transition from isolated AI pilot projects to scalable solutions capable of improving public service delivery while positioning the country as a leading AI innovation hub in Africa.