Google commits $600,000 to child online safety in Nigeria

By Juliet Umeh Google has committed $600,000 to support initiatives aimed at improving online safety for children in Nigeria, including a nationwide study of adolescents’ internet use and digital safety training for parents, teachers and young people. The technology company said the initiatives would be implemented through the TechSocietal Development Foundation and Tech Hive Advisory.

The programmes include a $600,000 support package for TechSocietal and the introduction of Google’s Meet LEO (Learn and Explore Online) child online safety programme in Nigeria. The announcements follow public consultations by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which found that 93.5 per cent of Nigerians were concerned about online harms affecting children.

Under the TechSocietal programme, the foundation will conduct a survey of 2,000 adolescents across the country’s six geopolitical zones and train 5,000 teachers and school administrators. It will also train 200 community champions, who are expected to reach up to 10,000 parents and caregivers. Google’s support comprises $550,000 in funding and $50,000 in Google Ad Grants.

Meet LEO, being piloted in sub-Saharan Africa for the first time, will be delivered by Tech Hive Advisory across four states. The programme is expected to train 500 educators and youth leaders, who will in turn share online safety guidance with 2,500 students and community members. The training will cover digital safety tools, including Google Family Link, SafeSearch and YouTube Supervised Experiences.

Country Director of Google Nigeria, Olumide Balogun, said protecting children online should not deprive them of the opportunities offered by the internet. “It takes a village to raise a child, and today that village extends into the digital world, where protecting our children must never mean disconnecting them from their future,” he said. Balogun added that the initiatives would combine local research with educator training to help Nigerian children navigate the internet safely.

National Commissioner of the NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said protecting children online required cooperation among government agencies, technology platforms, educators and families. “The NDPC’s recent national consultations made it clear that Nigerians are deeply concerned about the risks young people face online. “By combining local evidence with hands-on digital skills, we are building a safer, more empowering digital environment where every Nigerian child can learn, explore and thrive,” he said.

Lead Partner at Tech Hive Advisory, Ridwan Oloyede, said the Meet LEO pilot would provide practical online safety tools to educators and youth leaders, enabling them to extend the training to more young people. Executive Director of TechSocietal, Tope Ogundipe, said the Google support would enable the foundation to investigate online risks facing adolescents and equip adults with the knowledge to guide them.

“With this support from Google, we are launching the country’s first nationwide baseline study of 2,000 adolescents across all six geopolitical zones, while equipping 15,000 teachers and caregivers with the skills to guide young people safely through the digital world,” Ogundipe said.