inDrive says Nigeria’s tech talent needs more than training
Nigeria's technology industry does not only have a skills problem. For many people who already have the skills, the harder part is finding the money, work experience and opportunities to put them to use.
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Nigeria does not necessarily have a shortage of people learning technology skills. The bigger challenge for many of them is what comes next.
Finding work experience, funding a business idea or getting access to people who can open the next door can be harder than completing a training programme.
That was one of the points raised by Timothy Oladimeji, country manager for inDrive Nigeria, during a panel at GITEX Nigeria 2026 in Lagos.
The discussion focused on Nigeria’s technology talent and the gap between learning a skill and finding an opportunity to use it.
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Nigeria does not necessarily have a shortage of people learning technology skills. The bigger challenge for many of them is what comes next. Finding work experience, funding a business idea or getting access to people who can open the next door can be harder than completing a training programme. That was one of the points raised by Timothy Oladimeji, country manager for inDrive Nigeria, during a panel at GITEX Nigeria 2026 in Lagos. The discussion focused on Nigeria’s technology talent and the gap between learning a skill and finding an opportunity to use it.
Training is only one part of the problem
Oladimeji said Nigeria already has a large pool of talented people. What is missing, he argued, are more opportunities for people to gain practical experience and keep building their skills. He also said companies should play a bigger role.
“Getting trained is only the beginning. The next job, first customer, mentor or investor can determine what happens next.”
“Every player and stakeholder, especially employers and the private sector, has a responsibility to contribute to the system,” he said.
For companies, that could mean giving young talent access to internal training, project experience and lessons from work that has already been done. There is a difference between learning how to build something and seeing how a real product is taken from an idea to something customers actually use.
The same applies to other areas of technology. Someone entering the industry can learn a lot from seeing how a company handles customers, runs a campaign, develops software or deals with a failed project.
Founders need more than a good idea
The discussion also moved beyond employment and towards entrepreneurship. Having the technical ability to build a product does not automatically give a founder the money, customers or connections needed to turn that product into a business. Oladimeji pointed to the 2026 Aurora Tech Award, an inDrive programme supporting women technology entrepreneurs. According to inDrive, Nigeria produced more applications for the 2026 programme than any other country.
That suggests there is no shortage of people trying to build technology businesses. The more difficult question is what support is available once those founders move beyond the idea stage.
“Nigeria’s technology story is often discussed as a skills challenge,” Oladimeji said. His argument is that skills are only part of it. A founder may know how to build a product but still struggle to raise money, find customers or get the right people around the business. Adding another coding programme will not necessarily fix those problems. Equally, giving a startup funding does not guarantee that it will find a market or build a sustainable business.
What can companies do?
Oladimeji’s comments also put the spotlight on the private sector. Companies already have something that many young professionals and founders are trying to get: experience. They have employees who have worked on real projects, dealt with customers and made decisions that affect the business. Some of that knowledge can be shared with people trying to enter the industry.
For startups, relationships with established companies can also lead to potential customers, partnerships and investment opportunities. The challenge is making these connections part of the normal technology ecosystem rather than something that only happens at conferences, competitions or short term programmes. Nigeria has no shortage of graduates, developers and entrepreneurs interested in technology.
For many of them, however, getting trained is only the beginning. The next job, first customer, experienced mentor, investor or business partner may have a bigger impact on where they go from there.
Oladimeji made the comments during a panel discussion titled “Building and Reshaping the Tech Talent Story” on 2 September at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, during the first day of GITEX Nigeria 2026.
About inDrive
inDrive operates mobility and urban services, including ride hailing, intercity transport and delivery. The company says its app has been downloaded more than 400 million times and is available in 1,065 cities across 48 countries. It launched New Ventures in 2023 as its venture investment and mergers and acquisitions arm.
