nigeria“>Nigeria’s race to join the global digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) economy is colliding with a deepening gender divide that threatens to lock millions of women“>women and the nation out of the industries shaping the future of work.
This is despite the fact that BudgIT’s new state-by-state assessment of Women‘s Economic Empowerment (WEE), released on Wednesday, shows that no Nigerian state received the highest rating for women‘s participation in emerging fields such as technology, creative industries, renewable energy, data science, and AI.
The report’s findings revealed that only three states, Lagos, Kaduna, and Cross River, received a green rating, exposing a national crisis that was hidden in plain sight. While nigeria“>Nigeria is building the economy of tomorrow, women“>women, who are half of its population, remain almost entirely absent from it.
The majority of states remain in the Red and Yellow zones, highlighting a lack of targeted programming and investment in preparing women for future-ready sectors. Only nine states have a specific budget line or programme for creative arts, entertainment, and culture for women.
In terms of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) funding, the report found that only four states (Lagos, Gombe, Ebonyi, and Cross River) provided specific funding or programmes for women to access STEM education or training.
This highlights a critical opportunity for federal and subnational actors to increase women‘s access to digital tools, STEM education, tech incubation programmes, and policies addressing gendered digital divides.
Analysts warn that the trend could spark a gendered recession, with disastrous consequences for growth, jobs, and competitiveness.
Celine Lafoucriere, chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Lagos field office, said,
“This is not just a digital crisis, it is a national economic crisis. nigeria“>Nigeria’s youth should be its greatest asset, not its greatest challenge. But that will only happen if we equip them with the digital and AI competencies the future workforce demands. The economic potential is enormous, as much as $15 billion annually, but so is the risk of doing nothing.”
The structural barriers holding women“>women back begin with extreme digital exclusion. In Bauchi, only two percent of women“>women use a computer, while in Adamawa it is 3.2 percent, levels among the lowest globally. Internet access for women“>women in many northern states remains under 10 per cent, and in the Northeast and Northwest, just 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent of women“>women have ever used a computer.
UNICEF says the consequences are catastrophic. nigeria“>Nigeria loses $11 billion annually due to the digital skills gap, and unless urgent action is taken, the country could forfeit $15 billion per year in additional economic value by 2030, missing out on the global AI boom.
The crisis is amplified by weak school infrastructure, as fewer than 35 per cent of schools have electricity; computer ratios are 61 students to one device and 96 to one in primary schools. The Nigerian curriculum aspires to teach coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence, but many schools lack computers, internet access, and trained teachers.
“How do we teach AI when students cannot even turn on a computer? Digital literacy is not enough. What we need is digital competency, the ability to use digital tools efficiently to make a living?” asked Babagana Aminu, UNICEF education specialist.
The gendered dimension of the crisis is stark. In Northern nigeria“>Nigeria, 61 per cent of fathers discourage daughters from using digital devices, UNICEF data show. When combined with near-zero digital access, girls are excluded from the labour force long before they reach adulthood.
Meanwhile, thriving industries such as fintech, software engineering, AI, clean energy, and Nollywood are moving forward almost entirely without women.
“This is a dramatic signal that the future economy is being built without women“>women. Millions of girls are being trained for jobs that will not exist, while boys dominate the fast-growing economic sectors,” Aminu asserted.
Despite the urgency, the report reveals that Ogun, Ondo, Kebbi, and Zamfara states lack dedicated budget lines for women in STEM education. This contradicts Nigeria‘s national goal of increasing female STEM graduates to 40%, which is viewed as critical for future competitiveness.
Without specific funding, programmes remain fragmented, uncoordinated, and unscalable, keeping women out of industries with the highest global demand.
Bright spots: What Lagos, Kaduna and Cross River are doing right
The story is not entirely bleak, in that some states are taking the initiative to change the narrative.
Kaduna, for example, has trained 5,000 women and girls in AI, data science, cloud computing, and digital entrepreneurship as part of the Arewa Ladies for Tech programme, which is run in collaboration with Data Science Nigeria and Google.
It intentionally targets rural and semi-urban women“>women, offering a model of inclusion other states have yet to replicate.
In Lagos, policy direction is clearer. The state has continued to lead nigeria“>Nigeria’s digital economy. Lagos demonstrates that consistent policy, infrastructure, and partnerships can significantly reduce gender gaps, as evidenced by higher-than-average female mobile and internet penetration and large-scale digital literacy programmes through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and partner organisations.
“We have embedded digital learning into the school curriculum under governor Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES Agenda. Digital learning is no longer optional. It is the foundation for every child’s future,” said Martins Opeyemi, director at the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.
In Cross River, though smaller, it scored green for supporting women“>women in creative digital industries, demonstrating that political will, not population size, determines performance.
These three states provide a model for the rest of the country in areas such as long-term investment, public-private partnerships, and gender-targeted programmes.
UNICEF warns that failure to act could permanently lock nigeria“>Nigeria out of global AI value chains, with long-term economic losses that may be irreversible. But with 70 per cent of the population under 25, nigeria“>Nigeria also holds one of the world’s greatest demographic opportunities, if it invests now.
“This dialogue matters because nigeria“>Nigeria is the youngest country in Africa. Every young person is employable. Every adolescent can compete globally, if we give them the tools,” Aminu said.
The report encourages women“>women’s participation in high-growth sectors like STEM, and the creative economy, adding that women“>women remain under-represented, as only 30 percent of tech firm owners and 22 percent of STEM graduates are women“>women due to limited access to digital tools, training, and opportunities.
Yet, the potential is massive. According to the WEE policy, if inclusion is prioritised, the tech sector alone could generate over 10 million jobs and $7 billion in annual revenue.
The goal is to raise female STEM graduates to 40 per cent and expand women“>women’s participation in ICT and creative industries by scaling access to digital skills, funding, and support systems that help women“>women innovate, lead, and thrive in emerging spaces.
