Nigeria inaugurates Youth Academy Startup and NiYA GIGS
Date: 2025-12-10
By: Robert Annor
The
Nigeria Youth Academy Startup and the NiYA GIGS initiative have been officially
launched, marking a new phase in youth empowerment and digital skills
development across the country. The programme was unveiled on behalf of
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, drawing
strong interest from stakeholders in the technology and youth development
ecosystem.
The
initiative is designed to harness the creativity, energy and digital potential
of Nigeria’s young population, providing a structured platform to support
skills development, innovation and enterprise creation.
Speaking
at the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described the platform as
a significant step toward unlocking Nigeria’s human capital. He noted that the
country’s youth, many of whom are digitally native, remain central to
sustainable economic growth and national development.
He
highlighted that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda places digitalisation
and innovation at the core of economic diversification and inclusive growth.
According to him, initiatives such as NiYA GIGS will help channel the
resilience and talent of Nigerian youth into productive outcomes, while
creating new pathways for self-employment and entrepreneurship.
The NITDA Director General also commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, for championing the initiative, noting its long-term importance in a country where more than 70 percent of the population is made up of young people. He said equipping young Nigerians with relevant digital skills would drive community development, strengthen youth-led enterprises and expand their contribution to the national economy.
He
reaffirmed NITDA’s commitment to supporting the Ministry of Youth Development
and the continued growth of the platform, recalling the agency’s involvement
from its inception and pledging sustained collaboration to build a digitally
empowered and economically productive generation of Nigerian youth.
