3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) and the Future of Work: Preparing Nigeria for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

By Engr. Bolaji Abdulquadri Okunade

Prepared for the Excellent Assembly Annual General Meeting

June 2025

Introduction

Good afternoon your Excellencies, My Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor co-anchormen, Chairman & members of Board of Trustees, honored members of the Excellent Assembly— engineers, doctors, architects, builders, construction experts, business executives, and valued professionals in all walks of life. It is an honor to address you as the Voice of our Association, being a software engineer, ICT expert, and Founder and CEO at Cardri Incorporation, a cross-border digital payments company powering endless global payment possibilities for Africa. I have led Beespeed Technologies Limited, a technology consultancy company, spearheading innovation in Nigeria’s technology space for over 13 years. Today, I talk about a theme crucial to the future of our nation: the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program and how it is positioning Nigeria for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

We are at a pivotal moment as working professionals leading Nigeria’s progress. The 4IR is redefining industries, economies, and societies around the world, and Nigeria’s youthful population—70% under age 35—positions us to leverage this. 3MTT is a step in the right direction towards equipping our youth with the ability to lead in this new era so that Nigeria engages and excels in the digital world of global economies. This is a reading of the 4IR, shifting power of 3MTT, and our role in defining Nigeria’s future. Let us begin.

Understanding the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Fourth Industrial Revolution, a term used by the World Economic Forum, is the convergence of physical, digital, and biological worlds, spearheaded by technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, and Biotechnology. Unlike the First powered by steam, Second by electricity, or Third by computer, 4IR is distinguished by its unprecedented size, speed, and interconnectivity.

  • Global Impact: The 4IR is reshaping industries. AI assists doctors with diagnostics, IoT optimizes construction site management, and blockchain, as I’ve leveraged at Cardri Incorporation, revolutionizes cross-border payments. The global digital economy is projected to contribute $11.5 trillion to global GDP by 2025 (World Economic Forum).
  • Challenges: 85 million jobs are at risk of being automated globally by 2025, particularly low-skilled jobs, while 97 million new ones emerge in high-skilled areas like software coding and data science (World Economic Forum, 2020). The skills divide is increasing, and nations that are not digitally ready risk falling behind.
  • Nigeria’s Context: With the median age of 18.1, and youth unemployment rate of 42.5% (National Bureau of Statistics, 2023), our nation faces a double challenge: to capture our demographic dividend as well as to remedy unemployment. The 4IR gives us the chance to jump over traditional development pathways, but only if we are courageous enough to act.

Why 4IR Matters to Nigeria

Nigeria’s strengths position us in a unique place for the 4IR:

  • Young Population: Nigeria has the youngest population in Africa, with over 140 million people under the age of 35, a potential well of innovation.
  • Growing Tech Ecosystem: Nigeria’s tech sector contributed 17.83% to GDP in 2023 (NBS), with companies like Flutterwave, Paystack and Moniepoint with a valuation of over $1 billion each.
  • Mobile Leadership: Nigeria has over 200 million mobile subscriptions, 88% smartphone internet penetration (NCC, 2024), creating a digital platform for transformation.

Yet, there are challenges:

  • Skills Gap: Africa contributes only 2.6% of global software developers (Techpoint Africa, 2023), limiting our competitiveness on the world stage.
  • Digital Divide: Only 55% of Nigerians have stable broadband coverage, while rural communities lag far behind (World Bank, 2024).
  • Brain Drain: Career professionals seek employment abroad, exporting local talent.

The 3MTT program is Nigeria’s proactive response to these challenges, striving to transform our youth into a global digital workforce.

The 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Initiative

Launched in October 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani, the 3MTT programme is one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda flagship programmes. Its mission: to have trained 3 million Nigerians in technical skills by 2027, creating a talent pipeline for the digital economy and supplementing the 2 million digital jobs by 2025 target.

How 3MTT Works

  • Phased Implementation:

– Phase 1 (Pilot): Educated 30,000 fellows (1% of target) between December 2023 and March 2024 across 12 skill streams, including software development, data science, cybersecurity, UI/UX design, and product management.

   – Phase 2: Expands to 270,000 fellows in three cohorts for 2024 with the aim of expanding to 3 million by 2027.

   – 1-10-100 Model: Starts small, scales rapidly, and achieves country-level impact.

– Inclusive Reach: It covers all 36 states and the FCT, with emphasis on the marginalized communities. Over 30% of pilot-phase fellows were rural dwellers, and 40% were female (3MTT Official Report, 2024).

– Curriculum and Delivery: The platform offers self-paced online learning, practical workshops, and hackathons with over 1,400 partners’ collaborations, which include tech centers, universities, and global platforms like Coursera and Udemy.

– Outcomes: Fellows have transitioned from graphic design to product design, developed AI prototypes, and secured remote employment with global companies. Hackathons have provided innovative solutions, with award winners receiving tools and coaching.

Why 3MTT Is a Game-Changer

  • Eliminating Unemployment: With 42.5% youth unemployment, 3MTT equips Nigerians with high-level employment, reducing reliance on low-skilled jobs.
  • Global Competitiveness: Africa’s digital economy by 2030 could add $180 billion to GDP (IFC, 2021). 3MTT sets Nigeria to head this growth, with the export of talent to foreign markets.
  • Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Trained fellows are establishing startups, cementing Nigeria’s tech hubs in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
  • Remote Work Revolution: As remote work grows—70% of global companies now hire remotely (LinkedIn, 2024)—Nigerian professionals can work for firms like Microsoft or Google from Nigeria.

As someone who has built tech solutions for over a decade, I’ve seen how skills in software development and fintech can transform lives. At Cardri Finance, we’re leveraging blockchain to simplify cross-border payments and leading the Instant Intra-Africa payment mission, a direct outcome of Nigeria’s growing tech talent pool.

The Future of Work: Opportunities and Disruptions

The 4IR is revolutionizing every profession that exists here:

  • Healthcare: AI diagnoses, like IBM Watson, increase precision by 30% (McKinsey, 2023). Telemedicine services connect millions from afar.
  • Construction: Drones reduce surveying time by 50%, and IoT sensors enhance safety (Deloitte, 2024).
  • Engineering: Robotics and 3D printing lower manufacturing costs by 20% (PwC, 2023).
  • Business: Fintech apps like Cardri Finance and e-commerce firms like Jumia have spurred financial inclusion, with digital payments in Nigeria as high as $1.2 trillion transaction value in 2024 (CBN).

Disruptions in the pipeline:

  • Job Displacement: 30% of Nigeria’s current jobs could be automated by 2030 (Oxford Economics, 2023).
  • Skills Gap: 65% of businesses report they do not have digital skills (LinkedIn, 2024).
  • Inequality: Left unchecked, the 4IR could widen the gap between high-pay, high-skill and low-pay, low-skill occupations.

3MTT mitigates these through encouraging lifelong learning, enabling Nigerians to transition to high-value work, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities.

Implications for All Sectors

All occupations must transform:

  • Doctors: Embrace AI diagnosis and telemedicine to enhance patient care.
  • Engineers and Architects: Leverage IoT, drones, and 3D modeling for productivity and innovation.
  • Business Leaders: Adopt digital payments, e-commerce, and data analytics to stay competitive.
  • All Professionals: Prioritize upskilling in 4IR technologies to remain relevant.

As a software engineer, I’ve witnessed how embracing technology—whether coding at Beespeed Technologies or building fintech solutions at Cardri Finance—drives progress. 3MTT extends this opportunity to millions.

What Nigeria Must Do

To maximize 3MTT and 4IR potential, Nigeria must:

  • Expand Digital Penetration: Push broadband penetration to 70% by 2027 (55%, World Bank, 2024) and offer subsided devices to low-income people.
  • Embed Digital Literacy: Include coding and digital literacy as a part of school curricula from primary to tertiary levels.
  • Promote Private Sector: Offer tax benefits to companies working with 3MTT or hiring trained fellows.
  • Add Infrastructure: Invest in power and internet with high reliability to enable tech innovation.

The Excellent Assembly’s Role

As a multidisciplinary team of professionals, we have a unique mandate:

  • Upskill: Learn 4IR technologies relevant to your career—AI for doctors, IoT for engineers, fintech for start-ups.
  • Mentor: Mentor 3MTT fellows through mentorship, internship, or sponsoring.
  • Advocate: Be an advocate for policies that enhance digital infrastructure and education.
  • Collaborate: Host digital literacy workshops, hackathons, or innovation challenges within our network.

Through promoting tech inclusion, the Excellent Assembly can drive Nigeria’s leadership in the 4IR.

A Personal Reflection

My journey—from building solutions at Beespeed Technologies for over 13 years to founding Cardri Finance has been technology, mentorship, and learning-influenced. I have seen how access to skills has transformed people’s lives, from coders becoming global freelancers to founders building unicorns. 3MTT empowers many more. As Voice of the Excellent Assembly, I invite us to make it accessible to every Nigerian youth so nobody is left behind.

Conclusion

3 Million Technical Talent is not a program, it’s a movement to position Nigeria as the global leader in tech. By educating 3 million Nigerians by 2027, 3MTT is building a workforce ready to power the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With our youth population, budding tech ecosystem, and initiatives like 3MTT, Nigeria can shift from watching the future to creating it. Let us vow as experts, as the Excellent Assembly—to upskill, mentor, and advocate for a digitally empowered Nigeria. Together, we will not merely be of the 4IR we will shape it.

Thank you, and I am looking forward to our discussions on how we can make this vision a reality.

—

About the Speaker

Engr. Bolaji Abdulquadri Okunade is a software engineer, ICT expert, and Founder and CEO of Cardri Incorporation, a blockchain-based cross-border payments company powering endless global payment possibilities for Africa and one of the pioneering companies making it possible to send and receive instant payments across Africa. With over 12 years as CEO of Beespeed Technologies Limited, he has driven innovation in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.