The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) and Ministry for Information and National Orientation, has launched the “Hire from Nigeria” campaign, an initiative aimed at connecting Nigerian professionals and skilled workers with international employers, as it targets the creation of one million export-linked jobs over the next five years.

The campaign is part of efforts to position Nigeria as a major hub for talent and services exports, allowing Nigerians to secure jobs and contracts from foreign employers and clients without having to leave the country.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the initiative at a news conference in Abuja, saying the campaign would help market Nigeria’s skilled workforce directly to employers, investors and businesses across the world.

According to him, the initiative would enable Nigeria take advantage of the changing nature of the global economy, where knowledge, skills, creativity and professional services can increasingly be delivered across borders without the movement of physical goods.

Idris said the government would use the campaign to communicate the quality, availability and competitiveness of Nigerian talent to the international market.

He said that with the right skills, infrastructure, professional standards and access to markets, Nigerians could live and work in the country while providing valuable services to clients and employers worldwide.

The minister added that such an arrangement would benefit the country through increased foreign exchange inflows, tax revenues and an expanded skills base.

“The world should look to Nigeria,” Idris said, describing Nigerian workers as ready to compete in the global economy.

The Minister for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the initiative was built around three key areas — demand, supply and partnership — to ensure that Nigerian youths were properly prepared to take advantage of opportunities in the international labour market.

He cited 2025 UNESCO data indicating that there were approximately 2.3 million vacancies globally across seven technology-related fields.

He disclosed that 35,000 Nigerians would undergo training over a six-month period under the Digital Technology Academy, with the Federal Government funding internationally recognised certifications through Coursera, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Huawei, among other platforms.

He said the necessary licences for the training and certification programmes had already been purchased.

According to him, the government is also strengthening the supply of globally competitive talent through initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent programme and the Digital Technology Academy.

The programmes, he said, are designed to make Nigerian youths more industry-relevant and better positioned to compete for jobs and contracts in the global market.

He stressed that the objective of the initiative was not to encourage Nigerians to emigrate but to enable them to participate in the global economy while remaining in the country.

He said the government was seeking to retain Nigerian talent and earnings locally while allowing professionals to serve clients and employers abroad.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the campaign represented a new approach to Nigeria’s export strategy, moving the country beyond its traditional dependence on oil and physical commodities towards the export of skills and digitally delivered services.

She described the initiative as a product of public-private sector collaboration involving the Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investment and Education, the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), the Bank of Industry’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, as well as domestic and international private-sector partners.

The “Hire from Nigeria” campaign is expected to build on the Federal Government’s broader strategy of converting Nigeria’s large youth population into an export asset by linking skilled workers with international employers and businesses.

In June 2025, the government relaunched the National Talent Export Programme with a target of creating one million direct export-linked jobs and up to five million indirect jobs within five years.

The programme was repositioned to enable Nigeria compete for a larger share of the global outsourcing and services market.

NATEP also announced in June 2026 that it was developing a new financing framework to support the expansion of talent development and export-led growth.

The next phase of the programme is expected to focus on expanding access to globally recognised skills and certifications, strengthening partnerships and deepening Nigeria’s participation in the global services export market. The new campaign also complements the Federal Government’s investments in digital skills development.

In May, the government partnered with Coursera to launch the Digital Training Academy, targeting 36,000 Nigerian youths for globally recognised certifications in areas including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

While that initiative focused on developing skills, the “Hire from Nigeria” campaign is intended to take the process further by connecting trained Nigerian professionals with employers and clients abroad.

The Federal Government has also been working to link beneficiaries of its digital skills programmes with employment opportunities within and outside Nigeria.
In August 2025, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said the government was partnering with business process outsourcing companies to create employment opportunities for Nigerians trained under the 3 Million Technical Talent programme.

At the time, over 117,000 Nigerians had been trained under the initiative, with some already securing employment, while the government continued to explore partnerships with technology and outsourcing companies to expand opportunities for other beneficiaries.