President Bola Tinubu has met with Sundar Pichai who is the CEO of Google and Alphabet in France, the meeting is aimed at discussing a strategic partnership towards advancing Nigeria’s role in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation.
While announcing the meeting on X (Twitter), Tinubu stated Nigeria’s readiness to lead AI development in Africa and collaborate with Google to drive this vision.
“Nigeria is poised to take the lead in AI and technology—this is merely the start of an exciting journey!” he stated on Wednesday.
The discussions with the Google CEO focused on five key areas: expanding scalable cloud infrastructure, equipping the workforce with future-ready skills, promoting AI research and innovation, accelerating cloud adoption and positioning Nigeria as a global hub for AI and technology.
Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s growing AI sector, citing Awarri Technologies as an example of local innovation. The federal government is currently partnering with Awarri to develop critical AI software infrastructure tailored to the Nigerian market.
According to the president, the Google partnership aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises economic diversification through industrialization, digitalization and innovation.
“This will empower businesses, create new opportunities, and establish Nigeria as a significant player in the global digital economy,” Tinubu said.
According to Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will oversee the partnership, while the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will lead its implementation.
