Over the last few years, learning management systems, mobile learning platforms, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, digital content, learning analytics and other technologies have increasingly entered the vocabulary of Learning and Development. The promise is compelling: learning that is more accessible, flexible, personalised, scalable and measurable. But how much of that promise has translated into everyday practice? What could be the impediments to this happening, and what can practitioners, leaders and organisations do to remove these impediments?
That was the question behind our latest research, Emerging Learning Technologies in Nigeria: From Promise to Practice, conducted jointly by the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development and Efiko Management Consulting. The study drew on responses from professionals across the private and public sectors, educational institutions, development organisations and consulting, examining awareness, adoption, quality of practice, constraints and perceived value. Nigerian Banking Launch
The headline finding is both encouraging and uncomfortable: Nigeria does not have a belief problem. We have an execution problem. Respondents overwhelmingly believe emerging learning technologies create value. About 82.5 percent rated their perceived value highly, making this the strongest result in the entire study. Yet not one demographic group – whether by sector, role, organisation size or region – reported high levels of adoption. In other words, organisations largely believe in the promise, but few have embedded the technologies deeply enough into how learning happens.
That gap matters – it suggests that our challenge is no longer primarily persuading leaders that technology-enabled learning is useful. That argument is increasingly won. The real work lies in moving from experimentation to integration. The study places Nigeria’s emerging learning technology ecosystem somewhere between experimenting and adopting on the NITAD ELT Maturity Model. Organisations are aware, belief in value is strong, and many have begun experimenting. But the technologies often remain adjacent to traditional learning rather than embedded in workflows, performance systems and business processes.Nigerian Banking Launch
In many organisations, we still treat technology as an addition to learning rather than an opportunity to redesign learning itself. We buy a platform. Upload courses. Introduce virtual sessions. Experiment with AI. Perhaps add an app. Then we declare that we have ‘digitised learning’. But digital tools sitting beside traditional practices do not automatically create a digital learning system.
The research shows why progress is difficult. Poor internet connectivity was cited by 75 percent of respondents, high cost by 60 percent and limited technical skills by 57 percent. Unreliable power, gaps in digital literacy and resistance to change compound the problem. These are not isolated barriers. Infrastructure, economics, capability and culture reinforce one another. This is why simply buying better technology will not solve the problem.
One of the strongest lessons from the research is that successful adoption depends on building a system, not collecting tools. The organisations moving fastest tend to do several things differently. They connect learning technology directly to business strategy rather than treating it as an HR experiment. They integrate platforms, content, coaching and workplace application rather than introducing standalone applications. They invest in the capability of trainers and employees. They pay attention to user experience. They adapt solutions to Nigerian realities such as bandwidth, power, affordability and local context. And critically, they measure whether learning is influencing performance rather than simply counting course completions. Nigerian Banking Launch
Leadership also matters enormously. Seventy-five percent of respondents identified leadership commitment as a critical driver of progress. That should not surprise us. Technology-enabled learning requires money, infrastructure, policy, time and behavioural change. Those things rarely happen because the L and D department is enthusiastic. They happen when leadership makes capability-building a strategic priority.
There is another important warning in the data. Leaders and L and D professionals consistently perceive learning technology awareness and quality more positively than employees and learners do. The system can therefore appear more advanced from the top than it feels from the ground. That perception gap should concern every HR and L and D leader. Installing technology is not adoption. Logging into a platform is not engagement. Completing a course is not learning. And learning is not impact until something changes in capability, behaviour or performance.
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The public sector deserves particular attention. It recorded the lowest awareness, weaker process quality and the highest low-adoption rate among the sectors examined. Given the scale of public employment and the critical role government institutions play in developing teachers, health workers, regulators and civil servants, slow adoption has consequences far beyond individual organisations.
The broader message of the study, however, is optimistic. The hardest battle may already have been won. People believe these technologies can improve access, engagement, flexibility and performance. The next phase is therefore not about evangelism. It is about execution. Learning and Development must increasingly move from being a training delivery function to a capability architect – designing integrated ecosystems in which learning is continuous, embedded in work, connected to strategy and measurable in its impact. That requires leadership commitment, better infrastructure, stronger digital capability, enabling policies and thoughtful system design. Emerging learning technologies will not transform learning simply because organisations acquire them or because the technology itself can do marvellous things. Transformation will happen when technology, people, processes and strategy begin to work together.
Omagbitse Barrow is the founder of Efiko Management Consulting, and he supports organisations and leaders to translate their strategy to results.