Nigeria Targets 21% Digital GDP as FG Launches Project BRIDGE Research Clusters

The Federal Government has taken a significant step in its bid to position Nigeria as a global digital economy powerhouse, launching the National Digital Economy Research Clusters under a sweeping programme known as Project BRIDGE.

Announced in Abuja by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, the initiative is designed to accelerate innovation, deepen infrastructure, and strengthen collaboration among government, academia, and industry.

It represents what the minister described as a transformative push toward research-driven development  a shift from laying digital infrastructure to actively creating economic value from it.

Nigeria's digital sector currently contributes nearly 20 per cent of the country's GDP, and Project BRIDGE sets an ambitious target of reaching 21 per cent. 

The initiative, backed by the World Bank, will anchor this growth on several pillars: the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable across the country, the rollout of 3,700 telecom towers to extend connectivity to rural communities, and the expansion of digital research hubs to more than 200 centres in universities nationwide.

Tijani also highlighted the country's improving global standing in artificial intelligence, noting that Nigeria has climbed from 103rd to 72nd place in AI readiness rankings  progress he attributed to reforms under President Tinubu, including the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme which is building a pipeline of digitally skilled Nigerians.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, emphasised that universities must evolve into genuine research and innovation hubs rather than traditional teaching institutions alone. 

He announced plans to launch a national dashboard for primary and secondary school students on May 6, aimed at improving education planning through data-driven decision-making.

Project BRIDGE arrives as Nigeria's digital economy momentum builds, with fintech, broadband expansion, and policy reforms dominating the just-released Nigeria Digital Economy Outlook 2026 Q1 report by DigitalSENSE Business Intelligence. For a country seeking to reduce its dependence on oil revenues, the digital sector is fast becoming the frontier of economic diversification.

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