Meta and Nigerian Government Launch AI Academy Nigeria with Free Courses and Startup Support

Meta has partnered with Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy through its 3MTT program and National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, together with RAIN, to launch AI Academy Nigeria. It offers free AI courses, a startup pitchathon, and a developer boot camp for developers, startups, students, and early-career professionals. Pitchathon applications close August 21, 2026. Winners receive cash and advertising credits and an opportunity to attend an AI summit in Istanbul in November.

The initiative will significantly expand Nigeria's AI talent base and lower barriers to learning and entrepreneurship through free courses and startup support. Meta's Llama model is central to the curriculum and may affect providers' technology choices. Nigerian developers, students, and startups gain free training and funding that may strengthen local AI innovation…. Meta may broaden adoption of models such as Llama among Nigerian developers, potentially affecting education prod….