Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar met his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya last week. Several memoranda of understanding were signed, including one in the field of science and technology.

“Nigeria has over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and can partner with Kuwait to become a major hub for data mining, AI and data storage, all of which require a lot of energy. Nigeria is also a leader in fintech. We have 6 unicorns (each with over $1 billion in revenue) and the number is growing. We are a young country with software engineering talent, creating start-ups that can work with Kuwait remotely or locally to build world-class companies,” said Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.

This agreement comes at a time when Nigeria is multiplying approaches to form strategic partnerships in order to take advantage of its assets. The country is indeed one of Africa’s technology strongholds, and its start-ups have attracted around USD 520 million in 2024, up 11% compared to 2023 according to data from Partech Africa .

However, the country faces challenges in various segments. In 2024, it had a score of 43.33 out of 100 on the AI ​​Readiness Index according to Oxford Insights. Although this data is above the regional average which stood at 32.70 out of 100, the country only occupies the 7th place. It has a national AI strategy document published in 2024.

Source: Agency EcoFin