The Federal Government has relaunched the National Talent Export Programme, naming development finance expert Teju Abisoye as Director-General to spearhead Nigeria’s drive to capture a significant share of the $1 trillion global outsourcing market.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, announced the relaunch in Lagos on Friday describing the programme as a vital part of President Bola Tinubu’s strategy for economic diversification and youth empowerment.
She stated NATEP aims to generate one million direct export-related jobs and up to five million indirect jobs within five years, while attracting more than $1 billion in foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s service export sector.
According to a statement by the minister’s media team said she led a high-level delegation to Alaro City, home to Itana, Nigeria’s first Digital Special Economic Zone, she said the government was now ready to match talent with global demand through structured, legal, and ethical pathways.
The statement read, “The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has announced the relaunch of the National Talent Export Programme, a bold initiative led by the Honourable Minister, Dr Jumoke Oduwole. The renewed programme is designed to tap into the $1tn global outsourcing industry by positioning Nigeria’s youth as a world-class talent pool for digital and professional services.
“In alignment with President Tinubu’s 8-point agenda, NATEP is designed to empower Nigeria’s youth, harness global service export opportunities, and drive inclusive economic transformation. With a youthful, English-speaking population, a strategic time zone, and rapidly advancing digital infrastructure.
“Nigeria is uniquely positioned to become a competitive global supplier of skilled talent.”
Introduced 18 months ago at the United Nations General Assembly, the minister announced that NATEP has been revitalized—now stronger, more focused, and globally aligned—as a key pillar of Nigeria’s economic diversification strategy under the current administration.
The program is designed to connect Nigeria’s skilled workforce with global demand through well-structured and ethical talent export channels.
The minister added that appointing Teju Abisoye would bring focus, execution power, and tangible results to the programme, highlighting her as a proven leader with more than 20 years of experience in public sector initiatives, youth employment, and entrepreneurship.
She noted that “the ministry’s goal is to create one million direct export-linked jobs and up to five million indirect jobs within five years. In addition, NATEP aims to attract over $1bn in foreign direct investment to Nigeria’s growing service export economy. The programme targets high-impact sectors such as technology, business process outsourcing, the creative economy, healthcare, professional services, and remote work.
“The programme will now drive policy reform, expand digital infrastructure, strengthen international partnerships, and create reliable talent pipelines that match global standards with its key components to include the training of 10 million Nigerians in globally recognized digital and professional certifications.
“Incentivising BPO and IT-enabled service companies to expand operations in Nigeria, Creating legal and ethical pathways for talent export in alignment with global labour needs, building a national talent database to map skills and track employment opportunities, partnering with global outsourcing platforms and employers to aggregate demand, empowering Nigeria’s youth, enhance foreign exchange earnings, and support inclusive economic transformation.”
