Nigeria has the potential to become the number one hub for global testing firms and QA development, according to the President of the Nigerian Software Testing Qualification Board (NGSTQB).
Boye Dare, who heads the Nigerian branch of the Belgium-based International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB), said Nigeria could – and should – take the software testing crown from India.
The sub-continent is generally considered to be the biggest and fastest-growing software testing market in the world currently. Not only does it have the largest infrastructure for software development, but it is also home to thousands of QA support teams that serve thousands of banks, financial institutions and other companies around the world, most prominently in North America and Europe.
“If India can do it, Nigeria can. We have the talent and potential to bring software testing projects to Nigeria, which will generate substantial foreign exchange for the country,” he told delegates at the TestNigeria 3.0 Conference in Lagos, taking place last week.
Multiple analysts and research reports have previously indicated that they expect the QA space to swell to around $90 billion in the next decade, and Dare wants the largest slice of that market. In fact, he said Nigeria has “all it takes to lead.”
While stressing the importance of software testing in Nigeria’s digital transformation journey, among one of the fastest-growing QA spaces in Africa currently, Dare disclosed there are “detailed plans” to set up a Nigerian Testing Centre of Excellence, a national hub designed to elevate the quality of software produced in the country and roll out a standard certification.
Dare also singled out the development of the Nigerian Software Testing Framework, set to be introduced by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which is aimed at providing clear guidelines for developers and testers to ensure adherence to global standards.
“At NGSTQB, we are acutely aware of the pivotal role that software testing plays in the success of digital initiatives,” he said.
“Our mission is to ensure that the software driving Nigeria’s digital economy is reliable, secure, and meets global standards. It is for this reason that we are working tirelessly to establish the Nigerian Testing Centre of Excellence,” Dare added.
Fast-growing industry
There is no question the software quality and development space in Nigeria, Africa’s second-largest economy, is booming.
Nigeria’s government recently said it plans to free up funds to train close to one million new software developers in the next two years.
To achieve this target, the government urged large software companies to join the initiative.
Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, recently said that training and certifying more Nigerians as software testers “has become imperative with the increasing integration of software into every sphere of human life and the need for a secure system.”
“We are working on building the capacity of 1 million developers in the next 18 months and we know we cannot do it alone,” Pantami said.
He added: “We are already working with some multinationals to help us on this and we also need the indigenous people to key into this initiative and we also need as many testers as developers.”
One key priority for the sector in Nigeria to align locally developed software with international standards to optimize its potential and protect Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
Moreover, with the increasing reliance on software and information technology globally, Nigeria must prioritize high-quality software development to remain competitive in the digital economy, Dare continued.
“The Nigerian software industry has seen significant growth, particularly in sectors like fintech, commerce, and banking,” he said.
“However, we must ensure our locally developed software meets international standards to create jobs, boost the digital economy, and enhance national data security,” Dare concluded.
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