At the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Bola Tinubu introduced the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) to bolster Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves. The programme, according to a statement by Ajuri Ngelale,
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity), aims to transform Nigeria into a talent outsourcing hub similar to India, Bangladesh, Mexico and The Philippines.
Representing President Tinubu at the launch was Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite. Dignitaries from multilateral institutions and tech giants, including the World Economic Forum, Google and Amazon AWS, gathered at the Microsoft Office in New York for the unveiling.
Dr. Uzoka-Anite, in her address, explained that NATEP would position Nigeria as a global leader in talent exports and service outsourcing, emphasizing competitiveness, innovation and sustainable growth.
NATEP aligns with President
The minister further noted that NATEP is part of the strategy towards achieving President Tinubu’s agenda for the creation of one million in-demand jobs over five years.The initiative is expected to generate foreign exchange through remittances and substantial tax income for state governments.
“This initiative will do three things for us as a country. One, it will create millions of jobs for our young people over the next 5 years and beyond. Secondly, it will bring in foreign exchange that our economy needs through remittances from talents that will be exported abroad and those that will be living in Nigeria and working remotely for organisations outside Nigeria and thirdly, it will generate huge tax income for state governments,” the minister said.
In her goodwill message, the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, Saadia Zahidi, said NATEP is a timely initiative to address the very important areas of skills and jobs for Nigeria and the world.
She stated that the WEF looks forward to partnering with Nigeria on the programme.
“This is an important programme that is coming at the right time. We at WEF stand ready to work with the Nigerian government on this great initiative.”
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who praised her counterpart for spearheading the NATEP initiative, said his ministry would collaborate and support the programme to ensure it delivers on the set objectives.
Dr. Tijani explained the importance of talents and in-demand workforce as critical part of the global economic structure, saying such is the reason why leading countries across the world are intentional about attracting and retaining top talents.
The event featured a panel discussion with panelists Amal Hassan, Ola Williams, and Adaora Ikenze, generating enthusiastic commitment to the NATEP initiative.
The launch concluded with the unveiling of the NATEP logo, signaling Nigeria’s readiness to become a global talent export hub.