The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Mastercard, a global payments company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of current efforts by the Federal Government to enhance data protection capacity in the country.
The pact, which was sealed during a one-day intensive workshop for Data Protection Officers (DPOs) in Abuja, aims to provide practical training for DPOs in conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA), in line with Section 28 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), which mandates a risk-based approach to safeguarding personal data in Nigeria.
Commenting on the collaborative initiative of the commission with Mastercard, the Chief Executive Officer of the NDPC, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, said that that the commission planned to train 250,000 certified Data Protection Officers (DPOs) yearly as part of its efforts to deepen data privacy compliance nationwide.
While stressing that human capital remains central to NDPC’s regulatory mandate, especially in a rapidly evolving data-driven economy, the NPDC boss described the Nigerian data ecosystem as new and emerging hence the need for urgent up-skilling of professionals.
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He explained: “We are targeting to build the capacity of 250,000 DPOs annually, and we are working with partners like Mastercard to achieve that,” Olatunji said.
“Human capital is really key to us, and the ecosystem we are regulating is very special, it is still new, still emerging, and we need all we can to build the capacity of officers,” he stated.
“We want to build the capacity of our people so we can be able to deliver on our mandate and fully deepen privacy in Nigeria”, Olatunji added.
He advised participants at the workshop to avail the opportunity to enhance their skills in view of the growing need to protect the nation’s data ecosystem.
Latest data from the NPDC indicated that the data protection ecosystem had recorded remarkable growth in recent years and projected to generate N13.8 billion in revenue in 2025, representing 15% increase from the N12 billion it raked in 2024.
In terms of enforcement sanctions, the commission disclosed that it generated over N400 million in sanctions from some defaulting companies for various data breaches as of June 2024 and that it had conducted over 1,000 investigations across different sectors, particularly in the financial services sector and digital lending platforms.
