- Microsoft Africa is looking to upskill 4 million young Africans in the latest AI technology.
- It is investing $2 billion in South Africa and Nigeria to train one million people from each country.
- But with the cost of training boiling down to $1 per person, is the plan actually feasible?
Tech giant Microsoft is promising millions of dollars in upskilling for people in South Africa and in Nigeria particularly in emerging AI technologies. The current target is one million in Nigeria and one million in South Africa, with claims that each country will receive $1 million for the training of each massive cohort.
More upskilling initiatives will be struck across the continent as a total of four million “African youth” will be trained, but the focus on Africa’s most industrialised nation and its biggest economy in South Africa and Nigeria is obvious.
The AI field itself is expected to introduce trillions of dollars into the global economy, but will also likely heavily impact the job market, especially in developed economies. The prevailing thought is that AI will replace some jobs, but those who arm themselves with AI skills will be able to find gainful employment.
In January, Microsoft announced that it would train one million South Africans in AI by 2026, and in February, one million Nigerians by 2027.
“We have set an ambitious target to deliver future ready skills to four million African youth for digital, cyber and AI technologies. Through this initiative, we believe we will make significant strides toward reaching this goal,” Microsoft Africa president Lillian Barnard shared with Hypertext in January.
“The launch of this AI skilling initiative for South Africa is not just about individual advancement, but more importantly about uplifting entire communities. We believe that by democratising access to AI education we are creating a more equitable digital future for all.”
In Nigeria, the drive will be in collaboration with Tech4Dev, Data Science Nigeria and other partners, TechCabal reports. In South Africa, partners like Africa Tikkun Services and Youth Employment Services (YES) have been earmarked. However, the sheer scale of the initiative is being called into question.
With $4 million being invested to train 4 million people, that translates to as much as $1 to train a single person on how to use AI. Usually resources like online courses are significantly more costly, and can often be several hundred dollars per month.
At no point in either its announcement in South Africa or Nigeria, did Microsoft reveal the details of its training programmes, only mentioning collaborations with “partners like” certain upskillers and that the training itself is “relevant, impactful and aligned with the needs of industries.”
Microsoft only has a few years left, and we suspect to hear something about the ongoing training initiatives both in South Africa, Nigeria and beyond as the year continues. Here’s hoping those that take part find something meaningful in the training, whatever it may be.
