Coursera said AI micro-credential enrollments in Nigeria rose 93% in the year through March 2026, even as its new skills index ranked the country 81st among 98 nations.
The company compared April 2025 through March 2026 with the preceding 12 months. Over that period, Coursera said AI micro-credential enrollments across its platform increased 122% globally. The figures count enrollments in programs, rather than the number of people who earned a credential.
Nigeria placed fifth among the 11 sub-Saharan African countries assessed in Coursera’s AI-Human Skills Synergy Index. The measure gives a 60% weight to Coursera learning activity and draws the remaining 40% from Oxford Insights’ Government AI Readiness Index 2025. The ranking therefore reflects both activity on the platform and a separate assessment of national readiness.
Other Nigerian enrollment trends varied by subject. Coursera reported a 28% rise for AI courses, compared with increases of 113% for critical thinking and 137% for AI security. Enrollments in generative AI rose 126%, while those in agentic workflows increased 95%.
Those growth rates do not establish how many distinct learners completed credentials or secured work. Coursera’s report says its platform data alone cannot demonstrate workplace or broader economic outcomes.
Coursera’s Middle East and Africa general manager, Kais Zribi, urged wider access to training and stronger links between learning, employment and new businesses.
Nigeria has since launched a six-month Digital Training Academy aimed at training 32,000 people through platforms that include Coursera. Its Sept. 14 launch came after Coursera’s March data cutoff, so the academy was not part of the period measured by the reported increase. The Federal Ministry of Education describes the program as a response to a digital skills gap.
The ministry said 16,000 people were selected for the first cohort and that it received 72,850 applications. It plans to follow participants’ progress, including qualifications earned and subsequent employment or business results.
