The Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, has expressed concern over what he describes as a widening talent gap in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, revealing that the company currently has about 500 job vacancies it is struggling to fill due to a shortage of candidates who meet global standards.
Speaking on the company’s hiring strategy between 2024 and 2025, Eniolorunda explained that Moniepoint initially made a bold commitment in 2024 to hire exclusively from within Nigeria. However, that decision, according to him, became difficult to sustain in 2025.
“In 2024, we made a firm decision at Moniepoint to hire only from Nigeria. But in 2025, we faced serious challenges. We currently have around 500 vacancies that we are struggling to fill, not just in terms of quantity but especially in quality,” he said.
He added that the issue was not simply about availability of applicants, but about readiness for global-level work expectations in engineering, product, and financial technology roles.
Eniolorunda also linked the challenge to broader societal and behavioural shifts among young people, arguing that environmental factors play a major role in shaping workforce readiness.
“I used to think intelligence is equally distributed across the world, but I now realize that environment plays a massive role… excessive social media consumption, shifting values, hookup culture, and yahoo yahoo culture are affecting how young people think,” he said.
His remarks have reignited conversations around Nigeria’s education system, digital skills pipeline, and youth employability, especially in the fast-growing fintech sector.
Reactions
The comments sparked widespread debate, with opinions divided across industry experts, job seekers, and tech enthusiasts.
@segun_Alabi: “There are talented people here, but most companies want mid-senior level output from entry-level candidates. There’s a missing bridge between university learning and real-world systems.”
@Victor_not_osimhen: “We screen hundreds of CVs weekly. The challenge is not volume, it’s depth. Many candidates cannot pass basic system design or problem-solving interviews used by global firms.”
@Maxx_well: “We were taught theory-heavy courses. Most of us only learn modern tools like cloud, APIs, or DevOps after graduation. By then, companies expect you to already know them.”
@Queen_Nkem: “If you only hire people who already meet global standards, you kill the pipeline. Companies need to invest in training junior talent instead of waiting for ‘perfect’ candidates.”
@Biola_Hassan: “Blaming social media and lifestyle choices oversimplifies it. The real issue is economic pressure, lack of mentorship, and limited access to quality tech education,” a digital policy analyst remarked.
Wider Concern
Eniolorunda’s comments reflect a recurring concern in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem: while the country produces a large number of graduates annually, only a fraction are immediately employable at international standards in fields like software engineering, data science, and fintech operations.
Industry observers say the gap is becoming more visible as Nigerian tech companies scale globally and compete for talent with international firms offering remote work opportunities and higher salaries.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
