By Emeka Aginam

The Lagos State Government has commended SAP Africa laudable efforts in boosting local digital skills capacity in the country.

Hakeem Fahm, the Commissioner for Science and Technology in Lagos Stated this  after  a successful three-month intensive digital training and certification programme based on SAP Financial Accounting and SAP Activate Project Management, SAP Skills for Africa held recently in Lagos for  22 graduates in Nigeria.

According to him, “Technology is a key driver of efficiency in any successful organisation and SAP Africa’s resolve to be at the forefront of bridging the digital divide in Nigeria is commendable.

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SAP Skills for Africa offers great synergies with our broader government-led efforts to drive digital transformation and establish globally-competitive research facilities for the promotion of innovation, research and development in science and ICT, as well as promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills development.”

The scope of government efforts, he said necessitated the establishment of effective public-private partnerships to ensure effective resource management, expertise utilisation, and the provision of high-quality and timely services.

“We call on our private sector partners to drive sustainable digital skills development in the communities in which they operate to ensure we jointly build a bright future for all Nigeria’s citizens in the digital age. Building a great digital workforce is beneficial not only to the private sector but to the entire nation, especially as our country and the continent as a whole makes strides toward becoming active players in the future economy – an economy that is likely to be dominated by digital skills and technologies.”, he explained.

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According to SAP Africa’s Managing Director for West Africa, Pedro Guerreiro, these challenges are insurmountable without all stakeholders working together to address the country’s digital skills divide. “SAP Africa’s partnership approach prioritises the facilitation of digital transformation to empower local communities with the skills and tools they need to build bright futures in this exponential era.  The terrific response from local graduates point to a growing need and appetite for greater exposure to some of the world’s most pervasive business applications, as well as the employment opportunities that are unlocked with the acquisition of skills and certification in such applications.”

SAP Skills for Africa is designed to train and certify young graduate students with the aim of providing public and private sector organisations with critical digital skills to drive digital transformation and growth in key economic hubs across the continent.