Nigeria is quickly becoming one of the most important tech hubs in Africa. From healthcare to financial services, Nigerians are using technology to solve some of the country’s most pressing issues in various fields, many of which were exacerbated by the pandemic.

When the New Economy Booster program called for businesses to offer support and resources to enable them to thrive despite the pandemic, it received applications from many innovative technology companies. Among them were SkillNG and Shortkode, which focus on providing technology solutions to educational challenges in Nigeria.

In recent years the technology industry has boomed in Nigeria. The country has the second highest density of tech startups in Africa and local companies that have raised a significant amount of funding. Much of this funding is going to financial tech companies that address Nigeria’s poor financial infrastructure, but Nigerians are finding technology solutions to many other issues, including those in the education sector.

Poor education is one of Nigeria’s major problems. The country has a population of about 200 million and ​​43% are ages 0-14. Of children aged 5-14, about 10.5 million are not in school. This number is pre-pandemic, but recent school kidnappings in the country and the pandemic have made the situation even worse. Children that are in school deal with issues like poor infrastructure and resources due to limited funding, poor teacher training, and more.

This is where Shortkode and SkillNG come in.

During lockdown and with infections increasing due to the pandemic, students have had to stay home and learn virtually. Nigeria was not prepared for this shift to online learning. From lack of quality Internet access to lack of infrastructure, the difficulties are so many that many students, especially the ones with fewer resources, are missing months of school. Shortkode aims to solve a few of these issues.

Read the full article about tech in education in Nigeria at Impact Hub Network .