Finnish education expertise in the spotlight in Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos State in Nigeria celebrated Education Super Week at the turn of August and September 2022, hosting both the Lagos State Education Summit and Africa’s largest education trade fair, TOSSE.

The two-day summit at the beginning of the week brought together all key local stakeholders and focused  on Building a sustainable and purposeful education system.  In addition to speeches by Leena Pylvänäinen, Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, and Marjaana Salli, Ambassador of Finland to Education, several Finnish actors shared their expertise in panel discussions held during the summit.

Finland’s strong presence continued also towards the end of the week at the two-day TOSSE fair. Finnpartnership hosts the impressive stand in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland in Nigeria, Business Finland in Nigeria and Education Finland. A total of seven Finnish companies and educational institutions were represented at the fair, some of which also participated in the panel discussions organised at the fair. In addition, Finnpartnership moderated an event during TOSSE that highlighted Finnish education expertise under the theme Co-creation of a sustainable education model.

Lagos is Africa’s largest city and Nigeria is the continent’s most populous market, and its population will continue to grow exponentially. The education system cannot keep up with developments, and excessive class sizes and funding pose significant challenges. This creates a critical need for innovative solutions. Finland’s strong presence during the Education Super Week further strengthened the local perception of Finnish competence. Finnpartnership is happy to engage in more detailed discussions and advise operators interested in the Lagos market. Success in Nigeria requires a local presence. In local words: “… The solution must be adapted to local needs, it is important to pilot, it must be physically on-site and pricing must be carefully considered. There must be consistency. Lagosians need concrete action before they can believe.“

Finnpartnership’s Business Partnership Support covers 70% of the costs for SMEs when aiming for the Nigerian market. The aim of the project may be, for example, a long-term licensing agreement, a joint venture or a subsidiary. The project phases, on the other hand, include the identification of partners, a more detailed project study and piloting of the solution, preceded by its localization.