By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Nigeria has launched the
Nigeria AI Scaling Hub (NAISH) and a national shared compute infrastructure
aimed at expanding access to artificial intelligence resources and accelerating
the development of AI-driven solutions across the country.
The announcement was made by
the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun
Tijani, who said the initiative is designed to address one of the biggest
barriers to AI innovation globally—limited access to high-performance computing
infrastructure.
The national shared compute
platform will be hosted by Galaxy Backbone and is backed by the Gates
Foundation. According to the ministry, the infrastructure will provide
researchers, startups, government institutions, and other innovators with
access to the computing resources needed to develop, test, and deploy advanced
AI applications.
Officials said the Nigeria
AI Scaling Hub has been established as a national platform to accelerate the
adoption and scaling of artificial intelligence by bringing together
researchers, startups, government agencies, academic institutions, development
partners, and the private sector.
The hub is intended to
support the transition of proven AI solutions from pilot projects to
large-scale deployment by providing access to shared computing infrastructure,
fostering collaboration across the innovation ecosystem, and strengthening
partnerships that advance national development priorities.
The launch also marked the
commencement of the Scaling AI for Development (SAID) Challenge, an initiative
that will connect government institutions with Nigerian AI startups to develop
practical solutions to public sector challenges using artificial intelligence.
The programme seeks to
encourage the deployment of locally developed AI technologies to improve public
service delivery while strengthening Nigeria's growing digital innovation
ecosystem.
The initiative is being
implemented with support from several partners, including the Gates Foundation,
Lagos Business School at Pan-Atlantic University, and Galaxy Backbone.
The Ministry of
Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy said the establishment of NAISH
reflects Nigeria's broader ambition to build an open, inclusive, and globally
competitive artificial intelligence ecosystem capable of driving innovation,
economic growth, and digital transformation across multiple sectors.
Applications for the
inaugural Scaling AI for Development Challenge are now open to Nigerian AI
startups with proven solutions capable of addressing public sector needs.
