Nigerian tech talent training firm INGRYD Academy has secured a groundbreaking five-year partnership with ISACA, the global IT governance association, aimed at certifying young Nigerians with internationally recognised tech qualifications at an affordable rate.
The agreement, which was announced during a press briefing in Lagos, will allow INGRYD Academy to offer globally relevant ISACA certifications for just $250 a price reduction of over 70 percent from the standard international cost.
Speaking at the briefing, INGRYD’s founder, Khadijat Abdulkadir, said the partnership is designed to help Nigerian youths overcome structural disadvantages in accessing global job markets.
“We’re here to say that with INGRYD on the continent, we have an exclusive partnership with ISACA for the next five years,” Abdulkadir said. “Our goal is to ensure our young people are not in a disadvantaged position when accessing global markets.”
She noted that while many Nigerian youths acquire technical skills, they remain locked out of global opportunities due to lack of formal certification, a gap this initiative seeks to close.
Scaling Access, Not Just Training
Since its inception, INGRYD has trained over 8,000 individuals and graduated 1,000, serving more than 288 companies worldwide. However, Abdulkadir admitted that one of the key bottlenecks has been certification.
“It is one thing to train people to be good at what they do. But in the global market, employers still ask: ‘Where did you get certified?’ That’s the gatekeeper question,” she explained.
To ensure affordability, the academy is offering 4,000 fully funded scholarships annually to Nigerian youths. This, the academy says, is part of its commitment to expanding equitable access to tech careers.
While headquartered in Nigeria, INGRYD also operates in the Netherlands and the United States. This global footprint allows the company to connect African talent with employers across continents.
Morenike George-Taylor, INGRYD’s Strategic Management Director, highlighted the financial burden of international certification for most Africans. “The average ISACA certification can cost €1,500 in Europe. We had to take on that burden ourselves to make it accessible in Nigeria,” she said.
Why It Matters
The partnership with ISACA comes at a time when the demand for remote tech workers is soaring worldwide, yet African talent remains underutilised due to systemic barriers.
By combining high-quality training with globally accepted certifications, INGRYD hopes to position thousands of Nigerians to compete in cloud security, cybersecurity, IT audit, and governance roles worldwide.
“This is not just about skill-building,” Abdulkadir said. “It’s about credibility and access. With this partnership, we’re not just certifying individuals we’re unlocking the doors they’ve been knocking on for years.”
With youth unemployment still a pressing issue across Africa, INGRYD’s initiative offers a rare blend of ambition and structure, potentially setting a new precedent for how tech education and certification can be delivered on the continent.
Talking Point
Here’s the hard truth: no one’s coming to save us. If more African startups don’t do what INGRYD is doing, we’re toast. The West won’t adapt systems to include us.
We must break in and build our own pipelines. What INGRYD is doing is revolutionary not because it’s flashy, but because it fills the exact gap that foreign institutions have ignored for decades.
This should be the norm not the headline. It’s great that INGRYD is giving 4,000 scholarships a year and reducing ISACA certification costs by over 70%.
But why are we celebrating what should already be systemic? That a single company has to shoulder the burden of global certification costs for African youths shows just how skewed the digital economy is against Africa.
