A Nigerian state government programme has just received one of the most significant endorsements it could get on the global stage. UNESCO has recognised the Imo State Government’s SkillUpImo programme as a leading example of how state governments can drive national digital transformation through targeted investments in skills and innovation.
The recognition did not come in the form of a ceremony or an award. It came inside a document that matters far more: a country-level assessment of Nigeria’s readiness for artificial intelligence, commissioned by the United Nations and backed by the European Union.
The recognition is contained in UNESCO’s Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) Report, supported by the European Union, which assessed Nigeria’s preparedness for AI adoption across five critical areas: legal and regulatory frameworks, social and cultural factors, scientific and educational capacity, economic conditions, and technological infrastructure.
The report gave Nigeria an overall AI readiness score of 47.9, noting that the country has made significant progress in governance, digital infrastructure and innovation, while emerging as one of Africa’s promising AI markets through growing investments, research institutions, technology hubs, startups and public sector initiatives such as SkillUpImo.
The key finding that ties directly to Imo State is this: the report identified digital skills and workforce development as the most critical factors for the successful adoption of AI, stressing that technology can only deliver meaningful impact when citizens possess the knowledge and skills to use and develop it.
SkillUpImo is the flagship digital skills initiative of the Imo State Ministry of Digital Economy and e-Governance, launched under Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration. The programme set an ambitious target to equip 300,000 Imolites with Fourth Industrial Revolution skills between 2022 and 2026, covering areas such as software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, UI/UX design, digital marketing, fibre networking, fintech, project management and tech-enabled entrepreneurship.
On the number of youths trained so far, two credible sources give different figures depending on the reporting period. A May 2026 report from Nigeria Startup Act cited more than 40,000 youths trained across cohorts one to four. A February 2026 Guardian feature reported over 65,000 trained across three completed cohorts, with women accounting for 53 per cent of participants and persons living with disabilities actively represented. The discrepancy likely reflects different cohort counts and reporting dates. The most conservative confirmed figure is over 40,000.
The programme is supported by the Imo Digital City and Imo Digital Learning Centres, which serve as physical hubs for training, research, innovation and device assembly.
UNESCO said the recognition of SkillUpImo underscores the importance of investing in people alongside technology and strengthens the state’s growing reputation as a centre for digital innovation and a key contributor to the implementation of Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
Imo State Commissioner for Digital Economy and e-Governance, Dr Chimezie Amadi, described the UNESCO endorsement as a validation of the state government’s investment in digital transformation and youth empowerment. He said SkillUpImo was designed to equip young people with globally relevant digital skills and position them for real opportunities in the digital economy, through training, mentorship and access to technology infrastructure.
UNESCO’s Officer-in-Charge in Abuja, Dimitri Sanga, said the RAM assessment provides a roadmap for implementing UNESCO’s global recommendations on ethical AI, ensuring that technological advancement remains people-centred.
Most conversations about Nigeria’s digital economy focus on Lagos, Abuja and a handful of federal agencies. The UNESCO endorsement of SkillUpImo sends a clear signal that states can shape the national AI story too, not by waiting for federal direction, but by building the human capacity that makes AI useful in the first place. For other state governments watching, Imo has just made the case that investing in young people is not a soft priority. It is an AI strategy.
