… Commends FG Digitisation Policy
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has said that the digitisation policy drive of the Federal Government as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) is impacting positively in corporate governance, Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Customer (B2C), and Business-to-Government (B2G) relationships. This, he said will drive the nation’s eCommerce market to unprecedented growth in the next three years.
Inuwa stated this while delivering a goodwill message at the Validation Workshop for the National e-Commerce Policy and Strategy by the National Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce and Digital Economy (NACEDE), which took place in Abuja on Thursday.
Reeling out statistics on the growth of the market in Nigeria, the DG who was represented by Acting Director, Digital Economy and Development Department, Engineer Salisu Kaka further said: “We have approximately 2000 digital innovation companies with 384 products in Nigeria. These Startups had raised over $2 billion in venture capital funding in 2021 alone. With an estimated 89,000 developers representing 12% 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.”
He noted that the Digital Economy sub-sector, which is a superset of e-commerce, remains key to Nigeria’s economic recovery in the post-COVID era, deploying new technological innovations, such as e-commerce platforms, including social media-enabled trading handles, and ensuring rapid uptake of e-commerce for economic growth and competitiveness.
“Nigeria is experiencing the positive impact of e-commerce activities due to the growing increase in access to the Internet and related IT tools and services. The contributions of the telecommunications sector to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was an average15% in July 2022 and experienced 44.5% broadband penetration with active internet subscriptions that peaked at 151 million,” Inuwa said.
“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.
“Global corporations now operate with much consistency while MSMEs experience enhanced participation in international value chains, increased market access and reach improved internal and external market efficiency, and lower transaction costs,” he noted.
NITDA in collaboration with the Trade Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), have jointly worked to produce the draft National E-Commerce Policy and Strategy document for Nigeria. The work is part of the Nigerian Government’s efforts to meet the ECOWAS, AU, and the global requirements for trade development in general and e-commerce in particular.
The NITDA DG further said that there is a need to maintain the tide, and optimise the benefit of technology and e-commerce, which have necessitated Nigeria to have a robust national e-commerce policy and strategy.
“Additionally, Nigeria is a signatory to bilateral, regional, continental, and global treaties on trade and trade-related activities. Having a national policy that recognized these treaties is necessary for the mutual benefit of member nations.
“The policy will help us as a nation to make use of trade agreements that facilitate e-commerce for national benefits and avoid possible distortions that could jeopardize the optimization of the opportunities in e-commerce and hinders the growth of our businesses.
He assured of Federal Government’s commitment in driving growth in the industry through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, led by Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami. “I believe that e-commerce policy is central to these developments”, he added.
The Chairman of NACEDE, Mr. Suleman Adebayo Audu, who is also the Director of the Commodities and Export Department, at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in his earlier remarks stated that taking advantage of the Digital Economy will boost the growth of e-Commerce across the country thereby bringing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and growth to the economy.
Adebayo noted that the workshop provided an avenue for inclusiveness of citizens in the decision-making process, while contributing ideas, initiatives, and criticism that will be beneficial to the policy document before the full implementation for the benefit of the country.
The policy document will be compiled as part of the scorecard of the present administration which will boost the operations of e-Commerce across the country.
The workshop, organised by the Agency in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment (FMITI), aimed at providing a platform to review, deliberate, and contribute towards the full implementation of the policy document.
