The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has partnered with private sector ICT firms to explore the use of adaptive regulatory sandboxes as a framework for integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into data protection systems while promoting cross-border innovation.

This development was disclosed at a one-day workshop held in Abuja titled “Co-Creation Lab on Africa Sandboxes for AI”, which also featured the presentation of the African Sandbox Outlook report.

The workshop provided a platform to evaluate how regulatory sandboxes can serve as controlled testing environments for AI technologies, fostering data-driven innovation across Africa.

Delivering his remarks, the National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji—represented by Ms. Adaobi Nwankwo, Head of the Commission’s Innovation Unit—highlighted the importance of sandboxes in advancing responsible AI.qq

“Sandboxes aim to encourage responsible AI, foster compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), and promote trust, fairness, accountability, and transparency,” Olatunji said. “The goal is to create a competitive environment for AI developers and data scientists while addressing Africa’s unique challenges.”

He stressed that for regulatory sandboxes to be effective, they must operate within real-time legal frameworks that support rigorous testing of AI and data-based solutions.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida—represented by Mr. Babagana Digima, Deputy Director of New Media and Information Security—described regulatory sandboxes as key instruments for collaborative policy development.

“Sandboxes provide a controlled environment for innovators to test AI under regulatory supervision. This encourages collaborative learning, risk mitigation, and evidence-based policymaking,” he noted, adding that the NCC is aligning its sandbox initiatives with the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the Digital Economy Policy, and the NDPA.

Principal Consultant at Kontemporary Konsulting, Dr. Jimson Olufuye, emphasized the need for greater regulatory alignment across African countries to ensure seamless data flows and AI integration. “We need to optimise data protection processes and scale products across West Africa. There’s a need for sandboxes that support cross-border interoperability and AI systems embedded with robust governance structures,” he said.

In her remarks, Ms. Morine Amutorine, Africa Lead for the Datasphere Initiative, reiterated that AI sandboxes are implementable even in countries with developing regulatory systems. She noted that sandboxes help assess the real-world impact of AI and identify regulatory gaps that may need addressing.

The African Sandbox Outlook report, presented at the workshop, underscored the growing recognition of sandboxes as essential tools for testing both regulatory and technical aspects of AI and data governance. It concluded that regulatory sandboxes are pivotal for overcoming Africa’s data governance challenges and unlocking innovation across the continent.

The event attracted stakeholders from regulatory bodies, tech firms, civil society, and academia, all unified in their commitment to shaping a future where innovation and data protection go hand in hand.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) has announced the launch of a National Technology Talent Gap Analysis Research, 2022. This is an update of the Technology Talent Gap Analysis 2016. It includes updated data and insights, incorporates a more rigorous study approach, and captures the change in the technology talent need and supply since the prior study.

“This research will give us great insights into the knowledge gaps that have been identified and will help us make better decisions on technology talent gap acceleration in Nigeria, said Kashifu Inuwa CCIE,” the Director General/CEO of NITDA.

In a similar vein, the CEO of Co-creation Hub, Mr Bosun Tijani, said, “we are excited to be working with NITDA again on this research as we further curate useful insights on the technology talent demand and supply in Nigeria”.

Nigeria’s tech ecosystem has expanded over the past decade, and as a result, the shortage of expertise has gotten more pronounced. With a population of over 200 million and a staggering unemployment rate of 33.3%, one out of every three Nigerians who are able and eager to work are unemployed.

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In implementing this National Multi-Stakeholder Research Project, a thorough investigation was conducted into the gaps and potential that can be brought to the forefront in Nigeria. The shortage or absence of literature on particular technological skills deficiencies in the Nigerian information technology sector is one of these gaps and possibilities. Therefore, this is an excellent opportunity for this study to define the key and specialized technology talent in Nigeria and their supply and demand projections. In addition, most Nigerian institutions of higher education have an incomplete grasp of the impact of technology education programmes. This is an opportunity for the study to gather feedback on the impact from study participants, particularly students.

The 2022 study will apply a descriptive research approach and triangulation of data. As a fundamentally multi-stakeholder study, the research design would approach the Talent gap issue in the Nigerian Information Technology Sector from a comprehensive viewpoint, incorporating all essential stakeholders and participants across all variable spectrums.

The quantitative method intends to collect data from practicing technology developers and university undergraduates in technology, computer science, and other relevant subjects. While the qualitative will collect data from Universities (Computer Science/technology departments), technology talent headhunters, Polytechnics, organizations heavily dependent on technology talents, development partners, foreign tech-talent recruiters, government parastatals, and alternative technology education platforms. In addition, the research will analyze previous publications on technological talent and technology skills in Nigeria to get a broad understanding of the topic under investigation and supplement the aforementioned methodologies. Finally, the research will also collect public opinion on the topic of the supply and demand for IT talent in Nigeria employing pre-planned tweets relating to poaching.

Utilizing Cochran’s method, the sample size was obtained using a multistage sampling technique. As a result, information will be gathered from 1,330 samples collected throughout all sectors. The initial phase divides the 36 states of Nigeria into six groupings (geopolitical zones), and the second stage, purposive sampling, will select two states from each cluster. The objective nature of stage two is determined by prior knowledge of the states that are technologically and innovatively vibrant, based on criteria such as the presence of technology skills acceleration programmes, universities of technology, polytechnics, and a positive outlook for their technology ecosystem. In each geopolitical zone, three universities, one public, one private, and one polytechnic, will be chosen from the list of states. The requirements for universities and polytechnics (stage three) are based on the amount of computer science-related courses provided and the number of students enrolled in IT departments. Lastly, a proportional sampling method will be utilized to randomly choose study participants in each department based on the number of enrolled students.

About NITDA

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is committed to implementing the National Digital economy policy for digital Nigeria. Their mandate is to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices in Nigeria.

The priorities of the Agency are Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Promotion, Software Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies & Indigenous Content Development and Adoption

About CcHUB

Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) launched Nigeria’s first open living lab for technologists, entrepreneurs, tech companies, investors and hackers in 2010 to accelerate the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity. The hub has since expanded to include an umbrella of pan-African innovation enablers that includes the CcHUB Design Lab in Rwanda iHub and eLimu in Kenya, Growth Capital by CcHUB and CcHub Syndicate. All CcHUB companies contribute to stimulating innovation and technology application towards achieving social impact across diverse sectors including education, public health, digital security and governance.

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