How a Lagos-based startup is solving Nigeria’s AI skills shortage with a 30-day hands-on product.
When Kareem Adebayo completed the AI Literacy Academy program, he was struggling to differentiate himself in Nigeria’s competitive design space. Today, he describes himself as an “AI-enabled workplace professional” who uses artificial intelligence tools to “create strategy and guide execution for high quality” work – and his income reflects the transformation.
Kareem’s story represents a significant shift in how Nigerian professionals acquire AI skills. While global tech giants offer AI certifications requiring months of study, the AI Literacy Academy promises to deliver job-ready AI skills in just 30 days – for less than $50.
Founded by Fii Stephen Michael, an AI consultant and marketing professional with over eight years of experience and certifications from Meta, IBM, Davidson College, and Quantic School of Business, the academy targets a critical gap in Nigeria’s AI education: the difference between learning to build AI systems and learning to use them effectively in business.
The Market Opportunity
Nigeria’s AI skills shortage is well-documented. Recent World Bank research on AI education interventions in Nigerian schools showed that students who received AI tutoring gained the equivalent of “nearly two years of typical learning in just six weeks,” outperforming 80% of education interventions in developing countries and suggesting significant untapped potential across Nigeria’s 200 million population.
But while universities and international certification programs focus on technical AI development, Stephen argues Nigeria’s 40 million small and medium enterprises need something different: practical implementation skills that don’t require coding knowledge.
The curriculum reflects this practical focus. Rather than teaching algorithms or neural networks, students learn to use ChatGPT, Claude, Meta AI, and Gemini for business applications: marketing campaigns, customer service automation, business plan generation, and personal branding.
The 30-Day Model
The academy operates on a cohort model starting quarterly. For less than $50, students get 40+ video lessons, templates, community support, live sessions, and certification.
The curriculum covers four tracks:
Part 1 covers AI fundamentals and prompt engineering. Students create an “AI Workflow Framework” for their work contexts.
Part 2 focuses on business applications: marketing strategy, content creation, and operations automation using no-code tools like Zapier.
Part 3 targets career professionals with workplace productivity, LinkedIn optimization, and job applications.
Part 4 addresses freelancers with AI-powered service delivery and client acquisition.
Perhaps most ambitiously, the academy includes what it calls the “₦300,000 Freelancing Roadmap” – a guide for monetizing AI skills through consulting or service provision.
All these can be assessed on the platform at www.ailiteracyacademy.org
Competitive Positioning
The academy contrasts sharply with traditional AI education pathways. While computer science programs spend semesters on statistical foundations and programming languages, AI Literacy Academy students complete practical projects in weeks.
“We focus on user-friendly, no-code AI tools,” Stephen explains in the program materials. The academy provides access to automation platforms like Make and Zapier, allowing students to build AI-powered workflows without technical backgrounds.
This positioning appears to be resonating: the academy reports training over 400 professionals across its first two cohorts, though specific graduation rates and outcome tracking aren’t publicly disclosed. At less than $50, the program costs roughly what professionals might spend on a weekend conference, making it accessible to Nigeria’s emerging middle class while remaining profitable at scale.
Market Validation and Growth
Market signals suggest significant demand. Nigeria’s expanding technology sector increasingly seeks employees who can integrate AI tools into workflows. The academy’s practical focus aligns better with immediate market needs than traditional computer science education.
The timing appears strategic. As AI tools become more user-friendly, the barrier has shifted from technical capability to application knowledge – precisely what the academy teaches.
While Nigeria-focused, the model appears designed for regional expansion across West Africa, where professionals face similar economic pressures and digital transformation challenges.
Industry Impact
The academy’s growth reflects broader shifts in how professional skills development is occurring in Nigeria. Rather than waiting for traditional institutions to adapt curricula, entrepreneurs are creating direct pathways between emerging technologies and practical application.
This short-duration, outcome-focused, community-supported learning model could influence how other technical skills are taught across Nigeria’s technology ecosystem. If successful at scale, the academy could contribute to Nigeria’s positioning as a regional hub for AI implementation and consulting services, creating export opportunities for skilled professionals.
The academy’s real test will be long-term graduate outcomes. As AI tools evolve rapidly, maintaining curriculum relevance while scaling operations will require continuous adaptation.
For now, the AI Literacy Academy represents a bold move in democratizing AI education for Nigeria’s workforce. In a market where traditional institutions struggle to keep pace with technological change, the academy’s practical approach may offer exactly what Nigerian professionals need: not AI expertise for its own sake, but AI skills that directly translate to business value.
Get access to practical AI Skills for your workplace or business at the AI Literacy academy here: www.ailiteracyacademy.org
