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The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and InnoPower Africa, the pan-African impact organisation, have signed a partnership to launch EkoAI Academy, a free AI skills programme targeting 10,000 young people in Lagos.
The programme will also train and certify 100 AI trainers to deliver the curriculum across communities in the city.
EkoAI Academy is designed to equip participants with practical AI skills for employment, entrepreneurship, and the evolving job market. The programme will be delivered across communities throughout Lagos rather than being limited to a single location.
Nigeria’s tech sector has grown rapidly in recent years, but access to practical AI training remains limited particularly for young people in lower-income communities. The partnership comes as demand for AI skills accelerates across Africa’s largest economy.
LSETF was established under Lagos State law in 2016 to tackle unemployment through job and wealth creation, initially capitalised at N25 billion by the Lagos State Government with plans to raise additional funding from donor partners, development agencies, and corporate organisations.
Beyond the AI skills programme, LSETF also runs the Eko Hub Model, an initiative that establishes shared workspaces and infrastructure for entrepreneurs, artisans, and creatives across Lagos.
Two hubs are already operational: the 360 Creative Innovation Hub in Yaba, which supports the fashion value chain with production machinery, training spaces, and a photography studio, and the Beauty Hub in Abule Egba, serving hairstylists, nail technicians, barbers, and makeup artists.
Additional hubs covering green economy, catering, food processing, and cleaning are planned.
Founded by Emil Ekiyor, InnoPower Africa works with governments, universities, development institutions, and the African diaspora to expand access to skills, capital, tools, and global opportunities for entrepreneurs and young professionals across the continent.
The organisation focuses on helping micro, small, and medium-sized businesses start, grow, and scale through business training, a master-trainer programme, AI-powered tools for planning and finance, and connections to patient capital through what it calls i-Philanthropy.
EkoAI Academy aims to close that gap by making AI education free and locally accessible.
