Verraki Academy: Building Nigeria’s Next Generation of Enterprise-Ready Technologists
By Niyi Tayo — Senior Partner, Technology Practice, Verraki Partners (Member of Andersen Consulting
As Nigeria accelerates toward a digital economy, the need for enterprise-ready technologists has become urgent. Verraki Partners, a member of Andersen Consulting, has stepped into that gap with the launch of the Verraki Academy, formally unveiled at Andersen Place on July 10, 2025. The Academy is not a conventional training scheme; it is a systemic response designed to bridge the persistent mismatch between academic instruction and the practical, client-facing demands of business and technology.
Closing Nigeria’s Digital Skills Gap
The scale of the challenge is sobering. The World Bank projects that by 2030, 35–45% of Nigerian jobs will require digital skills. Yet despite thousands of graduates entering the workforce annually, many lack practical expertise in fast-evolving fields such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data science, and cybersecurity. This disconnect contributes to productivity losses, widening inequality, and dependence on imported expertise.
The Verraki Academy positions itself as corrective, immersive, project-driven, and employer-informed. Unlike short, theory-heavy courses, the Academy’s model prioritises applied learning and professional readiness, directly tailored to the skills employers demand.
What Sets Verraki Academy Apart
The pilot Technology stream, launched in May 2025 and formally inaugurated in July, blends deep technical training with enterprise-orientated disciplines. Participants engage in specialisations such as:
- Backend Development (Java, .NET)
- Frontend Development (Angular)
- Mobile Engineering (Flutter)
- Quality Assurance
Beyond coding, trainees learn enterprise architecture, agile delivery, business applications, solution design, and client-facing professionalism. Crucially, Verraki does more than remove tuition costs, participants receive a monthly stipend throughout their training, ensuring economic barriers do not exclude high-potential talent.
The model is underpinned by three pillars:
- Real-world projects that simulate client engagements.
- Mentorship from experienced engineers and consultants.
- Structured coaching in leadership, teamwork, and client management.
The outcome is graduates who are not only technically skilled but also consultative, impact-driven, and ready to deliver from day one.
Nesting in a Broader Strategy
The Academy is part of Verraki’s wider mission to shape Africa’s problem-solvers. It builds on partnerships with Lagos Business School, Nigerian University of Technology & Management, and secondary institutions, alongside Ventures-backed startups such as Skilladder, Flexit, Primerli, and Craydel, each tackling different aspects of skills intelligence, financing, microlearning, and student guidance.
Strategically, Verraki views the Academy as the first step in a multi-stream ecosystem. While the Technology stream leads, Advisory and Ventures Academies are already in development. This integrated approach creates a feedback loop: client needs inform curriculum design, graduates deploy directly into real projects, and lessons from delivery refine training programmes.
Tackling Nigeria’s Talent Crisis Head-On
Nigeria’s tech training ecosystem still contends with outdated curricula, underfunded institutions, infrastructure deficits, and brain drain as skilled graduates seek work abroad. Against this backdrop, Verraki’s Academy is a market-led intervention that not only develops skills but also incentivises retention through stipends, mentorship, and clear employment pathways.
For employers, the value proposition is immediate: access to entry-level talent equipped with both technical expertise and professional acumen. For young Nigerians, the Academy offers something rarer than a certificate: a funded, credible route into meaningful careers. And for Nigeria, it represents private-sector commitment to long-term, structural change.
The Verraki Academy is more than an educational programme; it is a replicable model for inclusive growth. By aligning education with enterprise, the Academy aims to build technologists who can turn digital skills into measurable business outcomes. As Niyi Tayo emphasises, “Closing the digital skills gap is not just about teaching languages and frameworks, it is about equipping people with the judgement and values to convert technology into solutions that move economies forward.”
With Nigeria’s demographic dividend at stake, initiatives like Verraki Academy, rigorous, inclusive, and enterprise-driven, will shape the continent’s digital future.
For more information about Verraki Academy and its full blueprint, visit www.verraki.africa
