On Wednesday, February 12, President Tinubu held high-level discussions with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Paris, France, focusing on enhancing Nigeria’s role in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation.
Tinubu shared details of the meeting on his verified X handle, @officialABAT, emphasizing efforts to establish Nigeria as a global technology hub through strategic partnerships.
Describing the talks as a significant step towards leveraging AI for national development, Tinubu highlighted five key areas of collaboration with Google: expanding scalable cloud infrastructure, equipping the workforce with future-ready skills, promoting AI research and innovation, accelerating cloud adoption, and strengthening Nigeria’s status as a leading tech hub.
The President also highlighted Nigeria’s growing AI ecosystem, mentioning Awarri Technologies as a pivotal player. He revealed that the government is collaborating with Awarri to develop AI software infrastructure tailored to Nigeria’s cultural and linguistic needs—areas often overlooked by mainstream AI models.
“This includes data capture platforms and a large language model (LLM) for Nigerian languages in partnership with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR),” Tinubu stated.
He emphasized that the collaboration with Google aligns with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes economic diversification through industrialization, digitization, and innovation.
This initiative, Tinubu said, will empower businesses, create new opportunities, and position Nigeria as a major force in the global digital economy. He added that 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.
“Nigeria is poised to take the lead in AI and technology—this is merely the start of an exciting journey!” Tinubu declared.
With this push for AI-driven growth, Nigeria is strengthening its position in Africa’s digital transformation, leveraging global partnerships to drive innovation and economic progress.
