Smartcomply Academy has become the first certification body in Nigeria accredited under the 2026 edition of the ISO/IEC 17024 standard, marking a significant development in the country’s professional certification and digital skills ecosystem. The Lagos based academy was accredited by the Nigeria National Accreditation System (NiNAS) as a Personnel Certification Body under accreditation reference PC0001A, effective September 7, 2026 and valid until September 6, 2030.
The accreditation covers 27 professional certification designations across 10 scheme families, including cybersecurity, information security, cloud security, business continuity, compliance, risk management, artificial intelligence management, data protection and privacy. Unlike ordinary training certificates, certification under ISO/IEC 17024 requires candidates to undergo an independent assessment process designed to establish whether they possess specified professional competencies.
Smartcomply said its certification system separates training from the final certification decision, with measures covering examination security, candidate verification, remote examinations, automated proctoring with human review, impartiality, appeals and complaints. The development comes amid growing demand from employers for verifiable evidence of professional competence, particularly in technology fields where skills in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, privacy and digital risk are increasingly critical.
The achievement could strengthen Nigeria’s position in the growing market for technology and professional skills certification by providing local professionals with independently accredited credentials in emerging digital fields. For employers, the accreditation also offers a mechanism for verifying whether certificates issued within Smartcomply’s approved scope were obtained through a properly governed assessment process, rather than simply through completion of a training programme.