Smartcomply Academy, based in Lagos, has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first body listed by Nigeria's national accreditation authority with accreditation under the 2026 edition of ISO/IEC 17024. This accreditation, granted by the Nigeria National Accreditation System (NiNAS), is effective from September 7, 2026, and is valid until September 6, 2030. The academy's accreditation reference is PC0001A.
The accreditation covers 27 certification designations across 10 scheme families, including information security, business continuity, cloud security, cybersecurity, compliance, risk management, artificial intelligence management, data protection, and privacy. This development comes as employers and organizations increasingly seek ways to distinguish professionals who have undergone formal competence assessment from those who have merely completed training programs.
Unlike a course certificate, accreditation under ISO/IEC 17024 requires a certification body to demonstrate that it has the systems, competence, impartiality, and controls required to assess and certify individuals against defined requirements. Smartcomply Academy began in 2024 as a learning platform but subsequently developed a separate personnel certification system designed to separate training from assessment and certification decisions.
Under the new system, completing a Smartcomply course does not automatically result in certification. Candidates must meet the applicable requirements and undergo the relevant assessment and certification process. The academy has established Scheme, Certification, and Impartiality Committees, alongside controls covering conflicts of interest, candidate identity verification, examination content, remote examinations, automated proctoring with human review, certification decisions, appeals, complaints, recertification, and certificate verification.
For five scheme families, including cloud security, cybersecurity, and internet security, risk management, data protection, and privacy governance, Smartcomply is both the scheme owner and accredited personnel certification body. For the remaining five scheme families, it operates as an accredited personnel certification body without claiming ownership of the certification schemes. Gbemisola Osunrinde, managing director and chief executive officer of Smartcomply Group, said the accreditation aims to make professional credentials more meaningful to employers.
The approved scope includes ISO/IEC 27001 certifications covering information security management, ISO 22301 for business continuity management, ISO 37301 for compliance management, and ISO/IEC 42001 for artificial intelligence management. Oseyemi Ayegbusi, head of Smartcomply Academy, said the accreditation could help create greater confidence in African professional credentials. Certificates issued within Smartcomply's NiNAS-approved scope will carry the NiNAS accreditation symbol, providing a link between the credential and the independently assessed certification system.
Key points
- Smartcomply Academy is Nigeria's first ISO/IEC 17024:2026-accredited certification body.
- The accreditation covers 27 certification designations across 10 scheme families.
- The development aims to create greater confidence in African professional credentials.
