₦airaland Forum

A new wave of Nigerian tech talent is quietly transforming the UK start-up scene - from AI to fintech, their impact is beginning to show.

Across the UK's innovative tech hotspots, a new generation of Nigerian tech professionals are shifting the paradigm and reshaping the future of the UK's digital economy, with determination, innovation and community.

With a growing reputation as one of the most successful migrant communities in the world, Nigeria now ranks among the top contributors to the innovation boom in the UK. From leading teams at Wise, Deliveroo, BT Group and Innovate UK to founding cross-border start-ups tackling logistics, climate, and global financial inclusion, Nigerian tech professionals are silently climbing the ranks and curating a new narrative. One that speaks of resilience and technical brilliance.

Several high-profile Nigerian owned companies such as Reach Robotics (Mekamon) have raised over $12m operating in the UK digital space, a clear indicator of the impact of this diaspora community on the economy. According to data from the Home Office, Nigerians ranked among the most successful applicants for the Global Talent Visa, a clear indication of the growing presence of skilled talent from one of Africa's fastest-growing tech ecosystems in the United Kingdom. A similar report from Tech Nation also shows Nigerians as having one of the rising demographics in the UK's tech migration, alongside countries like India and the USA.

Nigeria has a young, tech-savvy population, with a median age of 18 years old. The country ranks among the top contributors to Africa's 700,000 developers, with many structured training programs equipping more with skills in artificial intelligence, cloud, cyber security and more disciplines. This unique blend makes Nigerian talent very attractive in the global talent pool. Combined with high English language proficiency and a strong cultural familiarity with the UK - rooted in historical ties - Nigerians are often well-positioned to integrate quickly and contribute meaningfully in professional environments across the United Kingdom and beyond.

Another key factor that sets this diaspora community apart is how effectively they are able to translate their understanding of their own native technology ecosystem into the reality of living and working in the UK, a fluency that allows them to see what others might miss. And while platforms like LinkedIn may help in sculpting career paths, it follows that optimal connectivity and reliance are enhanced through diaspora communities such as Tech Nation Naija (TN Naija), a fast-growing network of Nigerian tech professionals in the UK digital space. Through peer mentorship, workshops and referrals, this network is quietly bridging the gaps between both ecosystems.

Networks and communities such as these are becoming pipelines for UK technology companies seeking African talent and vice versa.As such, the rise of the Nigerian tech diaspora forces a rethink of global talent. In a world where borders are tightening, these diaspora professionals are showing that innovation thrives on the movement of people, knowledge and opportunity.

For the UK, this presents access to one of the world's youngest and fastest growing tech talent ecosystems and for Nigeria, it presents an opportunity for the perspective of migration to no longer be deemed to be a brain drain but instead to be viewed as a brain gain, as capital and knowledge return to the country through mentorship and its diaspora networks.

As the UK grapples with talent shortages and the need to diversify its tech workforce, the Nigerian diaspora offers a blueprint for not only innovation but also inclusion and integration. This quiet community may not always be at the forefront of the news cycle, but it undoubtedly has its hands on the future of the global tech ecosystem, shaping possibilities and influencing policies across the two countries.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-gb/growth-strategies/inside-the-uks-nigerian-tech-boom/493555

This is the kind of narrative we need to amplify. Nigerian tech professionals are not just surviving abroad, they are leading, building, and bridging innovation between nations. It’s inspiring to see how talent from one of Africa’s youngest and fastest-growing ecosystems is influencing major sectors in the UK, while also giving back to Nigeria through networks, capital, and mentorship.

The idea that migration is purely brain drain is outdated, this is brain circulation. We’re witnessing a strategic diaspora that understands both worlds and is leveraging that duality to create real global impact. If supported further, this wave could be one of Nigeria’s most valuable exports.

But are things this what we're supposed to follow

AmazingGenius:
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/en-gb/growth-strategies/inside-the-uks-nigerian-tech-boom/493555

Make una reduce this 40 characters shenanigans ooo,,,,

BTW, where is the pisshure

Tech is key and those who can take charged are really much here. We have more youths as we speak. My fear is our youths may use it as opportunity to scam

God bless the Nigerians keeping us on the world map for all the right reasons — from tech to talent, sports to style, and vibes to victories. You're the real MVPs!

Tech is key and those who can take charged are really much here. We have more youths as we speak. My fear is our youths may use it as opportunity to scam or hack us

Kclawx:
As the UK grapples with talent shortages and the need to diversify its tech workforce, the Nigerian diaspora offers a blueprint for not only innovation but also inclusion and integration. This quiet community may not always be at the forefront of the news cycle, but it undoubtedly has its hands on the future of the global tech ecosystem, shaping possibilities and influencing policies across the two countries.

What % of the value that these Nigerians generate abroad end up in our own economy and GDP growth?

What % ends up in the GDP of their new countries

anonimi:
David Hundeyin
May 4, 2022


I want to sell a script to a Hollywood studio. The story is about a guy who owns a farm that constantly runs at a loss but never quite shuts down.

The farm is massive and underutilised, and the protagonist has all the opportunities in the world to improve its output and get a bumper harvest.

He has access to credit, machinery, free irrigation and gifts from neighbouring farmers, but all he ever does with these things is drink and smoke them away while his family suffers.

Nigeria has refused to grow up and achieve something, but it somehow feels as if it is living vicariously through the achievements of its estranged children around the world

Apart from drinking, smoking and generally being utterly useless, his other pastime is to pump out children at an industrial rate. Needless to say, he takes no care of his children whatsoever, and many of them fail to survive childhood.

Those who do survive have to leave the farm and hire themselves out as hired labour to the neighbouring farmers, having picked up some survival skills from home.

With time, a number of them rise through the ranks and become senior managers, directors and even shareholders in these other farms while their father continues mismanaging his farm.

When good news about some of these successful children gets home, their father is filled with pride and joy, but when they end up on the wrong side of life, he acts as if he never knew them.

The successful ones make efforts to revamp their childhood home by sending back money and volunteering their skills and time, but all this guy ever wants to do is be a 62-year-old underachieving idiot carried through life by charity and luck.

Famzing” diaspora success is dishonest
I’m sure before the end of the second paragraph, you figured out whose story I was telling. The 62-year story of post-independence Nigeria — which the Hollywood studio would surely reject for being too sad with no redemption — is that of our fictional antihero.

Nigeria has refused to grow up and achieve something, but it somehow feels as if it is living vicariously through the achievements of its estranged children around the world.

Remember how everyone from corporate brands to Abike Dabiri made a big song and dance about supporting Anthony Joshua the “Nigerian,” whose only chance to become someone in life came when his parents emigrated from Nigeria?

Remember how things turned when he somehow lost against that chubby Mexican dude whose name I can’t remember? Remember when the Super Falcons won the female AFCON title and received a congratulatory tweet from the president, only for them to have to stage a protest before being paid their camp allowances?

That’s what we do in Nigeria. We try to live vicariously through the achievements of people who have achieved great things under their own steam, simply because said people happen to be called ‘Ifeoma,’ ‘Efe’ and ‘Ayotunde.’

Even when Nigeria had absolutely nothing to do with said success, or in fact happened in spite of Nigeria, as with Divine Oduduru, we bask in the reflected glory of their personal achievements.

Sometimes when those people wear a Nigerian flag or post something about Wizkid or Jollof Rice on Instagram, we go crazy with the Nigerian flag emojis because oh my god, they identify with us!

This is not about being a Killjoy
Somehow, the complete failure of Nigeria and our complicity in its failure is more bearable when we point at Nigerian immigrants doing great things in life and say “I knew Femi before he started calling himself Anthony.

His father and I were classmates in Aiyetoro.” It is unclear how exactly this helps our situation but hey, it’s also unclear how chugging the amount of alcohol we do helps either.

Escapism is a key part of our culture, and anyone who dissents must be a non-Jollof-eating, vegetarian heretic, and possibly also an atheist.

Now while all this is painfully cringey to my eyes, some will also point out that Nigeria is not the only country that has a weird obsession with its diaspora population.

Even ‘first-world’ countries like Ireland continue to have deep emotional and economic connections to their diaspora, and in any case Nigerians proudly supporting Anthony Joshua or the NBA’s Giannis Ante…African-sounding-name is basically harmless fun. They’re not hurting anyone. Why be such a killjoy, David?

The reason this matters can be found in a quote that has been dubiously attributed to Russian President Vladmir Putin, where he describes Africa as the place where its diaspora does not invest in, but returns to only to die and be buried with their ancestors.

While there is no concrete evidence that Mr. Putin ever actually made that comment, the truth in it is painfully poignant.

For diaspora success to be meaningful to Nigeria, it must correlate to on-ground results in Nigeria. The example of Somalia shows that having a well-educated, globally successful diaspora while being an absolute basket case are both possible at the same time.

I’d imagine we do not aspire to be Somalia.

Make Money o.

Just make Money..

Make dem no sack you kom replace you with AI.

I talk my own.

This is great news for Nigerian youths, who are silently working to reshape the future.Its not all these fraud related reports or drugs everytime. Let's continue to create a good image and redeem our country. Enough of the bad references.

Nigeria isn't weak but What we is the % of the the money generate abroad end up in our own economy and GDP growth?

What % do we need to use to grow... We are just been manipulated

Good news. Kind of things we love to hear.

Now let the benefits trickle down back to your home country, Nigeria.

The reason they opened their boders for student visa. Took all our wiz and pros in tech and health sector, leaving us in ruins.

It's fine

Nigeria will still shine again

Fred2020:
God bless the Nigerians keeping us on the world map for all the right reasons — from tech to talent, sports to style, and vibes to victories. You're the real MVPs!

Could you please explain how this will work miraculously for our country to get out of the ugly mess of having the highest number of extreme poverty paupers and children who are not in school?

anonimi:
Neo-black Problem: Must Blacks Be Ruled by Whites in Order to Prosper?

In short, the neo-black dilemma may be framed as follows: is it better to live under white rule without political dignity but with basic life-sustaining standards for many;

or to live under black rule with illusory political dignity and without basic life- sustaining standards for the majority?
@
@
The path forward for Africa lies in cultivating higher and adequate levels of personal and communal agential integrity as well as full personal responsibility and productivity. Not to mention creativity (including epistemic creativity), productive justice (such as merit and freedom), harmony and reconciliation at local and international levels, and a proper domestication of capitalism and other related values and institutions.

Africa must stop wasting her time on dreams of socialism because it is a system of wealth distribution primarily. Whereas, capitalism is a system of wealth creation primarily, and wealth has to be produced before it can be distributed.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/10/12/neo-black-problem-must-blacks-be-ruled-by-whites-in-order-to-prosper/

And because the avenue is not well enhanced here , just imagine the state of the country at the moment

Benrosaria:
The reason they opened their bothers for student visa. Took all our wiz and pros in tech and health sector, leaving us in ruins.

It's fine

Nigeria will still shine again

When did our country shine before?

What were the things that made us shine that time?

Will our country shine again because you simply said it? Or will we shine again because you are working hard to recreate the past conditions that made us shine?

Past conditions like free education for all children, water supply, electricity supply etc.

Potable water still luxury 23 years after return of democracy

WHILE the Federal Government continues to proliferate the country with dams, it is such an irony that a state like Lagos, with its massive, constant boast of being a megacity, cannot provide its residents, thereby forcing the bulk of them to take solace in the arms of water boreholes.

At regular intervals, the two major waterworks in the state, the Adiyan, and Iju get grounded leading to the non-availability of water. In April and May last year, for instance, they both produce less than 10% of their installed capacity.

As of today, Eti-Osa, Apapa, Victoria Island, Badagry, Ibeju Lekki, Surulere, Ikorodu, Agege, Ojo, Mushin Kosofe, and most locations in the state are without access to clean water. Consequently, millions of residents now rely on boreholes, rivers, rainwater, as well as comprised wells for their water needs.

On its website, the LWC claims that it has a total installed water production capacity of 210 million gallons per day (MGD), which is far lower than the current estimated daily water demand of 540 million gallons per day.

Also, its plan to produce 745 million gallons per day by the year 2020 through the Lagos Water Supply Master Plan fell flat with the actual number of citizens having access to potable water dropping, rather than increasing 11 years after the launch of the master plan.

A senior staff of LWC, who preferred anonymity said that at present, its agency only supplies water to Lekki, parts of Ikoyi, Victoria Island (VI), Ojodu, Iju, and some parts of Ikotun.

https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/potable-water-still-luxury-23-years-after-return-of-democracy/

Alright, that's a great deal.
Keep it up. Nigerians wo the World

And because the place is not well enhanced here , just imagine the state of the country at the moment

Nigerians are making uk great and it’s only yahoo boys people like to talk about

Linapi:
But are things this what we're supposed to follow

You when dey find person client to thief. Small boy apprentice. 😂

anonimi:
What % of the value that these Nigerians generate abroad end up in our own economy and GDP growth?

What % ends up in the GDP of their new countries

This write up makes a lot of sense, but it is a gradual process. Nigerians are trying at the individual level. It is the old men that we keep electing as presidents that are the problem.

Kclawx:
This is the kind of narrative we need to amplify. Nigerian tech professionals are not just surviving abroad, they are leading, building, and bridging innovation between nations. It’s inspiring to see how talent from one of Africa’s youngest and fastest-growing ecosystems is influencing major sectors in the UK, while also giving back to Nigeria through networks, capital, and mentorship.

The idea that migration is purely brain drain is outdated, this is brain circulation. We’re witnessing a strategic diaspora that understands both worlds and is leveraging that duality to create real global impact. If supported further, this wave could be one of Nigeria’s most valuable exports.

This is nothing but a brilliant summation and submission 👏.

Awesome.

Remember Jesus Christ is the way truth the life. No one goes to the Father except through Him.

They will scam people in the UK too. They are not tech they are yahoo

If u really know them it should reflect in ur own country and not the saturated UK. Stop deceiving urselves

What you need to realize Oga anonimi is that the Nigerian in diaspora remitted Billion of Dollar to the Nigerian economy annually. You can google diaspora remittances, and you will the World Bank compiled data to buttress this assertion. The Nigerians in diaspora are doing Nigerians good in their professional endeavor while contributing enormously to the Nigerian economy.

anonimi:
Could you please explain how this will work miraculously for our country to get out of the ugly mess of having the highest number of extreme poverty paupers and children who are not in school?

This is nice and good one. Things like this are what we should be projecting for the world to see and not keep amplifying our deficiencies. Kudos to the guys putting us on the world tech map.

Going....↗️
Sociological studies and writings, to make things complete
Truly complete

Timmi:
What you need to realize Oga anonimi is that the Nigerian in diaspora remitted Billion of Dollar to the Nigerian economy annually.

You can google diaspora remittances, and you will the World Bank compiled data to buttress this assertion. The Nigerians in diaspora are doing Nigerians good in their professional endeavor while contributing enormously to the Nigerian economy.

What will happen if all employees outearn the value that they create/add to the bottomline of the company

Can you understand how this analogy applies to the miserable crumb of remittances by diasporans to our own economy? How likely is it that their children and other descendants in the diaspora will do remittances to Nigeria?

This will be very interesting. I hope to start a startup one day.