India’s AI Ecosystem: A Model for Nigeria
India’s Department of Rural Development has quietly solved a challenge that continues to elude many countries, including Nigeria. Its AI-supported system for cash transfers under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) uses face authentication for secure beneficiary verification, unified digital payments, and real-time monitoring for accountability. Officials shared that over $700 million has been successfully disbursed to vulnerable groups such as widows and persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is another standout in India’s AI landscape. Its AI-powered chatbot, Bharati, provides farmers with loan information, advisories, and support in local languages. Bharati is accessible even on basic feature phones without internet access. Farmers simply dial a number, ask a question, and receive instant guidance.
Nigeria and India share similarities in climate, linguistic diversity, and social inequality. Even our education systems bear the imprint of a common colonial history. But India’s AI revolution is anchored in its Seven Chakras, a set of principles rooted in ancient philosophy and aligned with the human body’s energy centres. These Chakras guide India’s AI governance: ensuring safety, trust, inclusion, economic development, and people-centred innovation.
The Power of Local Solutions
At the Global AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, the overwhelming homegrown Indian AI ecosystem stood out. Healthy competition among states and ministries led to locally built solutions. For instance, the Department of Rural Development showcased its innovative approach to cash transfers, which has proven effective and scalable.
Developers who spoke little English were behind some of the most impressive tools on display at the summit. This highlights the importance of linguistic inclusion, which Nigeria should take seriously. With millions of tech-savvy young people outside the formal school system, translating learning materials into major local languages could unlock enormous potential. Our rigid insistence on “five credits and above” or the ability to speak flawless English continues to exclude brilliant minds who could otherwise build local solutions.
True AI inclusion is impossible when language itself is a barrier.
Strong Foundations in Education
India’s success is also rooted in strong foundations in science and mathematics, often taught in local languages like Hindi or Tamil. During my visit, I observed students speaking passionately about mathematics and physics, expressing confidence in the integrity of their exams. In contrast, Nigeria’s compromised standards have eroded trust to the point that parents no longer fear failure because they know there are ways to beat the system.
At the heart of India’s AI leap is a robust public AI infrastructure consisting of over 50,000 Nvidia Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) made accessible to individual developers, not just big corporations or so-called tech start-ups. True to one of its Seven Chakras, India has lowered entry barriers by massively crashing the cost of access to GPUs to about 65 Rupees ($0.7) per hour through its national AI portal. The country also launched AI Kosha – more than 300 ready-to-use data sets across agriculture, healthcare, logistics, etc. This is certainly a developer’s dream and a goldmine for the country’s coders who get localised and usable data for free! AI servers are also being deployed in public spaces to ensure fast responses even with slow internet.
Reliable Infrastructure and Security
This progress is enabled by reliable security and steady electricity, which are two major areas where Nigeria continues to struggle. In Old Delhi (where I stayed), despite the visible poverty, I did not hear of a single mugging or pickpocketing incident, and the electricity never blinked, not even for a minute. Even by sub-Saharan African standards, erratic power supply is becoming a thing of the past.
Rwanda and Ethiopia are embracing technology as a cornerstone for national development. Both countries are successfully deploying AI in agriculture, healthcare, and education. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia has even announced his most ambitious AI bet yet: a dedicated AI university, which is scheduled to open soon.
Lessons for Nigeria
Nigeria cannot build a meaningful AI ecosystem without reliable national datasets, linguistic inclusion, and a deliberate AI literacy drive. Basic AI literacy training should be mandatory for senior government officials, who must understand AI’s potential to transform governance, improve efficiency, and strengthen accountability.
It is contradictory for AI tools to be good enough for banking security but suddenly inadequate for transmitting election results.
During a visit to the exhibition stand of one of the ministries, I was discussing the possibility of adapting one of the open-source tools for deployment in Nigeria when one of the Indian officials mentioned that some very high-profile representatives from a particular Nigerian ministry had visited them last year and were equally impressed with the tool. According to the officials, they offered the product to the Nigerian delegation and even promised free technical support to help the ministry deploy it. The Nigerian officials excitedly promised to get back, but they never did.
Despite its challenges, Nigeria still attracts significant interest from global investors. At the Nigeria AI Collective exhibition stand, I witnessed genuine enthusiasm from international stakeholders. But progress requires alignment: state governments and ministries must key into the federal government’s AI vision championed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijjani. Elevating AI to a cabinet-level portfolio could accelerate investment, localisation of data, and national coordination.
However, these ambitions will remain difficult without a strong legal framework and consistent budget implementation. Given Nigeria’s status as a top destination for big tech, I propose a 2 per cent annual levy on the profits of major technology companies operating in the country. This could sustainably fund AI education and workforce development at scale.
Nigeria stands at a pivotal moment because it has the talent, the market, and the ambition to become a continental AI leader, but it must build the right foundations, reliable data, inclusive education, strong infrastructure, and a governance philosophy rooted in trust and accountability. India’s Seven Chakras show that progress is possible when innovation is guided by commitment and clear values.
