Meta, FG launch AI Academy to expand access to artificial intelligence training

The Federal Government of Nigeria has joined forces with Meta, along with Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria (RAIN), to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) academy. The initiative aims to increase Nigeria's AI talent pool and bolster its technology ecosystem. The academy will offer training, technical support, and opportunities for participants to develop and commercialize AI-powered solutions.

The program includes three main components: AI skills development, a startup pitchathon, and a six-week developer bootcamp. Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy's Dr. Bosun Tijani stressed the importance of this partnership in equipping developers, entrepreneurs, and young professionals with practical AI skills to create innovation and globally competitive startups.

The skills programme will be available to the wider 3MTT community and will cover topics such as generative AI, prompt engineering, multimodal AI, data analytics, and the development of applications using Meta's Llama models. The top 100 participants will be eligible for scholarships for Meta Blueprint certifications and up to $5,000 in advertising credits.

The AI Startup Pitchathon will target Nigeria's emerging startup ecosystem, with the top two winners receiving $5,000 in cash funding, $2,000 in Meta advertising credits, and an all-expenses-paid trip to represent Nigeria at Meta's AI Summit in Istanbul, Türkiye. This partnership aligns with the government's commitment to building Nigeria's AI ecosystem through public-private collaborations and strengthening the country's position in Africa's digital economy.