The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi Inuwa, has said Nigeria’s e-commerce businesses rose to over $17 billion early this year.
Inuwa said Federal Government’s digitalisation policy had accelerated the growth of the e-commerce and other sectors in the past few years.
The NITDa boss predicted that by 2025, the nation’s annual e-commerce spending would hit $75 billion.
Inuwa said this in a goodwill message he delivered at a workshop on National e-Commerce Policy and Strategy organised by the National Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce and Digital Economy (NACEDE) at the weekend in Abuja.
The NITDA boss was represented by the agency’s Acting Director of Digital Economy and Development Department, Salisu Kaka.
Inuwa said the Digital Economic sector, which he called a super-set of e-commerce, remained essential to Nigeria’s economic recovery in the post-COVID era.
The NITDA boss said the sector would deploy new technological innovations, such as e-commerce platforms, including social media-enabled trading handles, and ensure rapid growth.
He said: “The contributions of the Telecommunications sector to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was an average 15 per cent in July 2022 and experienced 44.5 per cent broadband penetration with active internet subscriptions that peaked at 151 million.
“We have approximately 2,000 digital innovation companies with 384 products in Nigeria. These startups have raised over $2 billion in venture capital funding in 2021 alone.
“With an estimated 89,000 developers, representing 12 per cent of the African developers’ population, Nigeria’s e-commerce market size is about $17 billion.
“There is annual spending of about $12 billion in 2022, and this is projected to reach $75 billion by 2025.
“Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) appear to be the major beneficiaries of the concept of e-commerce as it enabled MSMEs to operate in the global marketplace. MSMEs can now participate in regional businesses and enjoys social, economic, and cultural networks seamlessly across international boundaries.”
