The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has said that the Ministry in its bid to make Nigeria a global leader in Artificial Intelligence, has identified over 6,000 AI researchers who are of Nigerian descent and based in several parts of the world.
The Minister disclosed this at the Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2023 in Lagos. According to him, these researchers will be instrumental to the country’s new drive to deploy AI in every sector of the economy and for job creation.
He added that the goal of the Ministry is to use AI to enhance productivity through the deployment of smart infrastructure.
The Minister had earlier in August, via a post on Twitter, asked Nigerians to recommend any AI researchers of Nigerian descent to join the country in co-creating a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy.
He added that before the year runs out, the government will also reveal the 45 startups that were selected for empowerment under its AI Research Scheme. The program will give N5 million to each of the 45 startups and researchers focusing on AI.
