Nestled among the rolling hills in southwestern Nigeria, Ekiti State has been dubbed the “ Fountain of Knowledgeis a title that its people are proud to wear. Education is not only valued, but is also deeply woven into everyday life.
In almost every Ekiti family, you will find someone with a Master’s degree or PhD,” said Esther Ajayi a state government official from Ado Ekiti.
The state is now channeling this deep-rooted academic heritage into a new aim: preparing its young people to lead in artificial intelligent (AI) and other emerging technology. Ekiti, Nigeria’s fifth smallest state, will have the third highest literacy rate in Nigeria by 2024 at 95.7%and a low out-of-school percentage of only 9%. This will make it the third most educated state in Nigeria after Imo and Lagos.
Led by future-oriented policymakers, the state government is using this intellectual legacy to launch growth in AI, one of the most transformative technologies in the world.
Making ICTs AI-ready
Fourteen month ago, Ekiti’s Ministry of Innovation began a major reboot: the systematic revival of and future-proofing of state’s ICT policies.
Commissioner of Innovation, Science, and Digital Economy, Seun Fakuade, said, “We brought a long-standing ICT policy back from the grave.” It took intensive, multi-disciplinary discussions with colleagues across ministries and introspection to see where we stood.
Instead of simply updating an older document, the Ministry rewrote it, adding flexibility for yearly review and anchoring the policy firmly in current and future digital realities. This included a robust AI component that covered data governance, ethics and infrastructure, education and AI use cases in government, business and public services.
Fakuade believes AI must serve three pillars: government-to-government, government-to-business, and government-to-citizen interactions. “AI will define our history in the same way that the internal combustion engine did,” he said. “It’s non-negotiable for Ekiti to participate in and benefit from the fourth Industrial Revolution.”
Speak AI in Ekiti’s voice
The most ambitious project of Commissioner Fakuade is to build a large language-model fine-tuned to the Ekiti dialect. This is a rare and unique undertaking. “Ask the largest AI models online to speak Ekiti today: They’ll struggle,” said Fakuade. The state, in partnership with local stakeholders, is documenting tone nuances and local expressions. This will train AI to “properly interpret as an Ekiti speaking Ekiti, not some phoneticised impersonation.” It is a way of protecting oral histories and cultural identity in an age of digitalization, where many languages face extinction with the passing of older generation. Ethnologue states that 454 languages are already extinct. UNESCO warns that at least 40% of the 6,700 languages currently spoken are either lost or on the verge of extinction.
With the Ekiti Language Bank, filmmakers will be able to animate authentic Ekiti voice, businesses will be able to build voice bots that have local credibility, and students will receive educational resources in their native language. Fakuade stated that “if Google, or anyone else, wants to buy the state’s information, they will have to pay.” “We will have invested our language and our knowledge, which will serve generations yet to be born.” In Ekiti’s case, fibre optics and broadband are key. As of 2023, the state had deployed approximately 1,178.04km of fibre-optic cable. This makes it one of those least covered.
Fakuade said, “We can have great policies and ideas, but without connectivity, how can the world access them?”
Ekiti, under the former governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration, became the first state in 2021 to adopt the N145 per metre of right of way agreed by the National Economic Council after reducing its N4,500 fee. This decision is slowly paying off as telecom operators deploy infrastructure in the state. IHS Towers Nigeria and MTN Nigeria worked together on the Ekiti Internet Infrastructure for Public Institutions (EKIREN) within the universities of Ekiti. IHS Towers, Geniserve and other companies are in talks to deploy fibre cables across the state.
In addition to investing in the powering of this widespread connectivity, the state also invests in government operations and public schools. Fibre optic cables link the State Secretariat with the Governor’s Office and an annexe. The Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy has completely eliminated paper in all of its operations. It benefits from the internet infrastructure. The fibre optic cables have been installed in many public institutions, including Afe Babalola University, Ekiti State University, Federal University Oye-Ekiti and many secondary schools.
Fakuade, however, is clear-eyed on challenges: “Infrastructure stack for enabling AI, is not where it should be, and this does not just apply to Ekiti but Nigeria as a whole.” In Ekiti we have a head-start and the political will to close that gap.
Building an independent knowledge economy
Ekiti may be best known for its brainpower. This strength is also a challenge to the founders of tech hubs in Ekiti, who want the talent they nurture to remain local and drive Ekiti’s growth digital economy. Lekan Ojulowo runs KinPlus Technologies,one of the 10 technology hubs in Ekiti. He says that out of the 1,000 people he’s trained in AI and software, the majority have moved to Lagos, other parts in Nigeria, or abroad for work. Only a few people stay to work remotely for foreign companies, join local firms, or start their own ventures in Ekiti.
Ojulowo stated, “Our focus is now on building AI products that will inspire our trainees stay in Ekiti.” “We can’t go all to Lagos or Abuja.” We need more people to build the future in the state.
Brain drain also means tech companies must import experienced talent to work for special projects. PurpleBee Technologies, located in Ado Ekiti’s largest tech hub, has hired software engineers from Lagos and other countries to work on its big projects.
Omotayo idumoye is PurpleBee’s COO. “The talent exists, but we need more experienced developers to execute large projects locally,” he said.
A government vision to build a self-sustaining, knowledge economy in Ekiti anchored by the Ekiti Knowledge Zone could be a way of bringing that intellectual capital home. The Knowledge Zone is expected to open in 2026 and will include a “Life Sciences Knowledge Corridor”which will be adjacent to universities, a teaching facility, and Ado Polytechnic. Fakuade, beaming, said: “You can fly to Ekiti, and do business in the Knowledge Zone without visiting the metropolis.” “We’re laying fibre, upgrading standards of life, and upskilling people.”
Early education reform begins. Ekiti State’s robust robotics, digital skill, and AI pilot program begins as early as age seven. The state is modeled on education systems such as Singapore. In July, 400 students aged 7 to 14 graduated from a robotics program. The larger plan is to pilot these programs, optimise them, and then mainstream them across all schools in this state with partners such as the United Nations Development Programme.
Fakuade stated, “The future of Ekiti is that a child who has been trained in Ekiti will be globally competitive with anyone and anywhere.” Fakuade admits that there are still challenges. “We must retool our teachers as well, since many were trained in programming languages that are now considered outdated, and they lack the necessary equipment or skills. He stressed the need for teacher training and partnerships as well as salary reforms in order to attract high-caliber teachers who can teach next generation tech.
Innovation rooted in local culture
Ekiti State Government is leveraging partnerships to address critical skills gap in digital and AI literacy. These collaborations are part of a deliberate shift towards community-based innovation. Training programs are rooted locally, with limited access to data, power, and capital, but designed to meet global standards. These hubs, with targeted support and institutional backing are delivering training in AI, software development and programming to hundreds of young people throughout the state. McKodev Tech Lab, founded by Banji Akole is developing “Afrocentric technologies”: solutions tailored to African contexts. McKodev rejects the one-size fits all approach of foreign tech imports and trains software engineers using a curriculum that focuses on local relevance. Over 200 developers have graduated from the program. They gained practical experience and foundational skills through real-world projects. OctopusVAI, one of the lab’s most innovative products, allows small business owners to create fully functional websites, complete with content and images, in just minutes.
The company, which has been bootstrapping its business for years, is now seeking venture funding to scale up its AI ambitions. Akole said that the type of programs and features OctopusVAI will have are not something they can fund themselves.
Kinplus led by Lekan Obulowo has taken a similar tack, scalability its reach through collaborations state and federal institutions such as the National Information Technology Development Agency. The hub has trained more than 1,000 youths in software and app creation. It is now integrating AI to its curriculum. A new project uses generative AI for original imagery. This exposes trainees to the intersection between creativity and machine-learning, and positions them for opportunities in media, design, and digital content creation. Kinplus continues to focus on creating reasons for tech talent in Ekiti to build their futures.
Homemade AI tools are already being used in Ekiti schools.
PurpleBee Technologies founded by Dapo oriola illustrates how AI can drive public sector transformation. PurpleBee Result Vault, a result management platform powered by AI, was developed by teams from Ekiti and other parts of the world. The system, which is now in 20 public secondary school, digitises grades, centralises records of students, and provides parents and teachers with real-time access data on academic performance. Education officials can also benefit from the centralised dashboard, which provides instant visibility of student populations, teacher allocations, and overall school performances, enabling them to make faster, data driven decisions across the state’s educational system.
Ekiti cultivates a decentralised ecosystem of innovation powered by its people, rather than relying on infrastructure alone to build tech leadership. But the vision isn’t naive. Commissioner Fakuade, Ekiti’s young technologists, and other leaders in the state are open about the obstacles they face: infrastructure gaps, inadequate teacher training, and a persistent outflow of talent from Ekiti to more wealthy cities and countries. “Change management” is crucial. Fakuade stated that systemic reform, incentives and an entrepreneurial ecosystem will help us leap. This report was produced in collaboration with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development and Luminate. Mark your calendars
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