A shortage of blockchain engineers and professionals across the sector is threatening the industry’s growth potential, according to experts at the recent BusinessDay Blockchain Conference held in Lagos.
Blockchain, an emerging technology, holds the potential to transform industries by making financial transactions more transparent, trustworthy, and efficient. It is projected to contribute $1.76 trillion to the global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. In 2023, Nigeria launched its National Blockchain Policy to harness this growth, especially given the country’s success with cryptocurrencies which rely on blockchain technology.
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However, experts warn that the lack of enough talent could hinder the country’s ability to capitalise on these opportunities. This talent shortage may limit its capacity to develop innovative solutions and reduce its share of the global blockchain economy.
During a panel discussion on ‘Beyond Crypto: Exploring Blockchain Applications for African Businesses,’ Fure Eviosekwofa, chief executive officer of Furex Technologies, highlighted how the talent shortage influenced his approach to building his company.
He noted that large firms already employ the few skilled blockchain professionals available.
Nathaniel Luz, CEO of Flincap, argued that the country does not lack skilled talent but faces a challenge in retaining it. “Somebody is already earning US dollars. How do you employ the person as a Nigerian startup founder? So, we are looking at something that is a blessing beginning to have a downside effect,” he explained.
While remote work opportunities have expanded access for local talent, they have also driven up competition and prices for local firms. “We have the qualified people, but they are already exposed to more opportunities,” Luz said.
A 2022 report by Electric Capital noted that the US had more than 23,000 active blockchain developers in 2022, and the number is expected to reach one million by 2030. In 2022, North America and Europe accounted for 58 percent of global blockchain developers, followed by Asia with 13 percent. India’s blockchain developer population grew from 2 percent in 2017 to 6 percent in 2022 and 12 percent by early 2024.
Though Nigeria’s numbers were unspecified, the report noted, “The distribution of developers changed meaningfully since 2018. The US, Germany, Australia, UK, and Canada lost share while India, Nigeria, France, and Argentina gained.”
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Chuta Chimezie, founder of Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), attributed this growth to the deliberate efforts of players in the space. He said, “For instance, in 2020, we launched a blockchain 1000 initiative focused on helping to scale people interested in blockchain-based talent.”
He emphasised that while Nigeria has a strong pool of software developers, many have yet to transition into blockchain due to its relative novelty.
“It is not easy to win core software developers into the blockchain. We now talk to new people who are basically in the space, and they are just starting so that we can move them from Web 2 to Web 3,” he added.
Buchi Okoro, CEO of Quidax, echoed the sentiment, noting improvement in talent availability since 2018, though gaps remain. “When we started in 2018, things were entirely different. Maybe you had a few blockchain developers who were not that good. So, what we did was to build people,” he said.
He emphasised that companies in the space must be willing to build people first, before products.
However, Luz of Flincap pointed out that training new talent comes with risks. “To get talent now, one will train them from scratch.”
Ezichim Onweagba, Quidax’s director of partnerships, highlighted that regardless of what local operators do, they must compete with foreign operators who have more financial muscles.
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He stated, “You (operators) want to transition from addressing just Nigerian markets to addressing global markets, which help you to compete for global talent. If you look at your revenues, you’re serving just Nigeria, and you compare that against Google, which serves everyone in the world? So, expansion is having a global strategy and approach is important.”
The Federal Government’s blockchain policy acknowledged the need for high-quality talent and highlighted the sector’s job-creation potential when harnessed properly. Experts at BusinessDay’s Blockchain event further urged universities to modernise Computer Science curricula to address emerging technology skill gaps and ensure Nigeria remains competitive in the global blockchain space.
