MTN has supported the Federal Government’s Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative with N3 billion.The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, who announced this yesterday, emphasized that public-private partnerships are key to the success of Nigeria’s digital transformation.

“I acknowledge MTN Nigeria’s long-term support for the 3MTT Nigeria program, with a cumulative investment of N3 billion since inception,” the Minister stated.

Tijani noted that MTN, as an early supporter of the initiative, has played a vital role in enabling inclusive access to digital skills for thousands of young Nigerians across the country.

“This kind of sustained collaboration is what drives our vision of building a future-ready workforce and positioning Nigeria as a net exporter of technical talent.

“As we scale the 3MTT Programme, we look forward to deepening our partnerships with the private sector to unlock more opportunities for our people and economy,” Tijani stated.

Earlier in the year, the government had also announced that it received an N1 billion grant from Airtel Africa Foundation to boost the initiative.
Aside from the recent donation from Airtel Foundation and MTN’s N3 billion grant, the Ministry had earlier signed a N1 billion deal with telecom infrastructure company, IHS Tower, to build learning communities across Nigeria for the 3MTT programme.

The Minister had explained that the N1 billion funding from IHS Towers also included a commitment to paying the salaries of 37 dedicated learning community managers for each location for three years.

According to Tijani, the 3MTT programme is a critical part of the Renewed Hope agenda and is aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power its digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter.

The programme started with 30,000 Nigerians, representing one per cent of the 3 million target, while another 270,000 were later selected for the second cohort to bring the number to 10 per cent.