In Abuja, on Monday, December 18 2023, the executives from Amazon Web Service (AWS)s, headed by Uwem Ukpong, the Vice President of Global Services, held a meeting with Kashim Shettima, the Nigerian Vice President. Also present were Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, and a few representatives from other agencies. During an interview, Ukpong expressed that the conversation with the Nigerian government aimed to exchange thoughts about maximizing Nigeria potential in the digital sector.
He emphasized that he presented numerous insights on how policies, funding, and various resources have been utilized by both first-world and third-world nations to foster the growth of their digital economies. AWS Academy, AWS re/Start, and AWS Educate have played a crucial role in training more than 50,000 Nigerians in cloud technologies since 2017. Upkong, who oversees training and certifications at AWS, is enthusiastic about how AWS can further support Nigerian government-led digital skills training programs.
Their goal is to provide training for 29 million individuals globally.
The progress made by Amazon Web Service (AWS) in upskilling the Nigerian workforce has been remarkable. An AWS team sat down with the delegates of the Nigerian Vice President for a dynamic roundtable discussion. He mentioned that their goal is to provide training for approximately 29 million individuals across the globe by the year 2025. This objective arises from the prediction that digital occupations will account for around 25-30% of all jobs in the forthcoming years.
Also, in the coming year, numerous visits like this will occur, and a subsequent follow-up is anticipated for January 2024. Ukpong expressed his purposeful presence as a Nigerian, emphasizing his intent to attentively absorb valuable insights. He further highlighted his objective to carry these lessons back to the Amazon headquarters, where he aims to ardently promote more effective methods of propelling Digital Innovation within Nigeria and Africa. AWS Vice President of Global Services Uwem Ukpong and Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani were present at the roundtable discussion.
Enhancing scalability but also significantly reducing latency.
Ever since AWS, the global frontrunner in cloud computing services, established its Nigerian branch in the previous year, it has witnessed a remarkable growth in its customer roster. The decision to create a local presence and employ a dedicated team has greatly enhanced AWS capability to cater to a wide range of clients, including startups, small and medium-sized businesses, corporate enterprises, and the Public Sector. Earlier this year, AWS took a significant step to better serve its growing client base.
This step was taken by setting up Nigeria very first CloudFront Edge Location. This ingenious move by AWS involved the creation of a miniature Data Center in a strategically selected location in Lagos. The primary aim behind this endeavour was to not only enhance scalability but also significantly reduce latency for their valued customers. In the quest to assist traditional businesses in transitioning to the cloud, Ukpong placed a significant emphasis on aiding Nigerian startups.
Nigerian startups in its clientele, include Flutterwave.
Additionally, Nigerian startups are to be aided because they account for 46% of the total funding received by African startups in the previous year. AWS currently boasts an extensive list of Nigerian startups in its clientele, including but not limited to Flutterwave, Aella Credit, SeamlessHR, Yellow Card, BFree, and Bankly. The perpetual query that lingers within the body, Upkong pondered, revolves around an imperative notion: “how can we facilitate the inclusion of a larger multitude into the realm of AWS?”
