Out of Nigeria’s 78.5 million economically active people, 38.2 million (48.7 percent), less than half, are women, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
At the end of June 2016, 10.5 million people, representing 13.3 percent of Nigeria’s labour force, were unemployed, as against 4.9 percent and 5 percent unemployment rates for the United Kingdom and United States respectively. Of 10.5 million unemployed Nigerians, 5.8 million, well over half, are female. Female unemployment at 15.3 percent, is far worse than 11.5 percent for men.
When one combines the high unemployment rate with double-digit inflation and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction, the picture is depressing. Looking at the unemployment picture from the perspective of women is even more depressing. Fifteen point three percent female unemployment rate versus 11.5 percent for men reflects a 33 percent gender gap i.e. Nigerian women are 33 percent more likely to be unemployed than Nigerian men.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, Nigeria ranked 125 out of 145 countries, with a gender gap of 18.9 percent. Female economic inactivity increases the risks to the welfare and education of children, particularly in a recession.
To address Nigeria’s gender gap would require that the economy generate 620,000 more jobs for women than men. But, how likely is this given Nigeria’s existing circumstances? Virtually all major economic sectors in Nigeria are in recession: manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, hotels and restaurants, finance and insurance, real estate and government. The only exceptions are agriculture and telecommunications.
For unemployment to stabilize, Nigeria needs to create at least 4 million jobs annually. However, we currently create about 1.3 million, most of which are in the informal sector. In its 2016 Fiscal Budget, the Federal Government of Nigeria earmarked N1.59trillion for infrastructure/capital expenditure.
Ordinarily, this would raise hopes that several jobs would be created and that unemployment would ease. Unfortunately, with Nigeria in a recession, the proposed budget cannot be fully funded; implying that those jobs will not materialise. Also as part of this year’s budget, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced plans to create 500,000 teaching jobs. Even if this happened as planned, it would barely scratch the surface of a 10.5 million unemployment problem.
The situation is desperate. The largest companies in the country are reeling in the throes of the recession; with the attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta, oil companies are laying off workers; 26 out of 36 states are unable to pay salaries. It is clear that we need a totally different attitude and approach to employment and personal economic growth. In the midst of chaos, there are always opportunities.
Innovation and Information Technology: Adapt or die
Innovation and IT are now like the very air we breathe. IT is an enabler in all spheres, and those who achieve success today win through successful deployment of disruptive technologies. By seizing income generating and job creation opportunities that are made possible by technology, we can transform from complainers to solution providers.
Technology is the game changer and there are several awesome examples. For instance, take Life Bank, an IT company founded by Temi Giwa to supply blood to hospitals. Giwa is not a medical practitioner; she simply decided to solve a problem in the medical industry – patients dying due to lack of blood. First, she set up a non-profit organization to supply blood to hospitals. This required complete reliance on donors and donations were not always forthcoming. Therefore, Giwa rethought her model and rebranded Life Bank as a business. She integrated technology into her operations, so that patients and hospitals in need of blood simply make an order through the company’s website or app, and blood is supplied. Giwa has created a sustainable business model while doing a social good and creating value in the process.
Technology is rapidly changing traditional business models.
Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles;
Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content;
Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory;
Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.
All these businesses are enabled by technology and are geared to deliver excellent customer experience. Given the rate at which technology has changed the economic landscape, it goes without saying that we all must adapt if we are to survive at all.
As technology has become increasingly pervasive, IT cost has been plummeting (at least globally). Start-up costs have also dropped because of access to many low-cost (and sometimes free) applications. For example, in the past, starting up a retail business would involve renting a physical store, setting up a warehouse, buying a server or data center and paying for traditional advertisements via fliers, billboards, newspaper adverts, etc. Today, one can set up an e-commerce store, leverage cloud-based storage applications such as Dropbox and advertise via social media – all for free.
Technology threatens to make certain jobs extinct or at least insignificant. But it is not all doom and gloom. Technology might eliminate some traditional jobs, but it also increases market demand and creates new opportunities that require new skill sets, thus encouraging the development of non-traditional skill sets, innovative thinking and a creative approach to problem solving.
I will illustrate with a few examples:
- Technology has produced driverless cars. Although I have threatened to disown my daughters if they ever dared get into a driverless car, I cannot ignore the fact that this will eventually become the “thing”.
What does it mean? It means the job of a driver may become extinct. But, new jobs will emerge in the field of driverless car technology.
- As banks aim to reduce their cost-to-serve, customers are steered towards e-banking channels: mobile banking, USSD, online banking, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), etc.
What does it mean? The job of a bank teller/cashier may become extinct. But, new jobs emerge in the field of e-banking technology, with design and development of ATMs, banking apps, etc.
In his book: Learning by Doing: The Real Connection between Innovation, Wages, and Wealth, James Bessen, a lecturer in Boston University School of Law, argued that the number of bank tellers and transactions has increased rapidly since the introduction of the ATM in the 1970s. Bessen pointed out that although the number of tellers at a particular bank branch decreased from 20 tellers to 13, the number of bank branches in urban areas increased by 45 percent, thus leading to an overall increase in the number of bank tellers employed in a particular bank and an increase in bank transactions.
The presence of ATMs also lowered the operating cost of banks in the United States, created more opportunities for people with specialised skills and allowed banks – tellers, in particular – to focus their attention on building personal relationship with customers. This requires a refocus of tellers on interpersonal skills versus technical skills.
Perspectives from Banking
For several years, the Nigerian banking sector has been seen as one of the most attractive sectors to work in, particularly for fresh graduates. Generally, banks pay relatively higher salaries than most other sectors. The sector currently employs approximately 200,000 people (including “contract” employees), out of whom about 45 percent are female. However, “9-5” in banking typically means 7am to 8pm.
With the changing demographic distribution of the work force , more young people are being employed for diversity, succession planning as well as for the creativity and freshness of perspectives which they bring, flexibility and work-life balance have become critical in attracting the right talent and ensuring that they remain motivated and productive at work. Technology has become an enabler in this regard.
A number of companies, banks included, have begun to promote a work-life balance culture by introducing options such as flexible work hours,leveraging on technological developments such as the internet, affordable data plans and Skype for Business. Banks with many branches can encourage employees to work at outlets/branches closest to home on certain days. This will enable employees spend less time commuting and more time with their families.
Thanks to digitalization, banking has become “something we do” and no longer “a place where we go”. We now access banking services anytime and anywhere. Nigeria has 151 million mobile connections, according to GSM (Groupe Spéciale Mobile) Association Intelligence, 2016. With fewer than 30 million bank accounts in Nigeria, the case for financial inclusion is glaring. As banks increasingly market the unbanked population, (about 40 percent of Nigeria’s population – according to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA)) through low cost retail banking channels such as mobile phones and kiosks, banks are able to reach many unbanked adults, thus driving financial inclusion while increasing their customer base and profitability.
According to a paper recently released by DBS Bank in Singapore , retail banks that are unable to adopt a digital model may see an 18 percent drop in return-on-equity (ROE) over a five-year time frame, mainly due to pressure from fintech firms and progressive banks. However, retail banks that are able to reinvent themselves could see an 18 percent increase in ROE, largely driven by the lower cost-to-serve and efficiency gains.
With increasing digitalization comes the need for new skil lsets to tap into countless opportunities for industries, including banking. Innovation has become the new buzzword for businesses because of the high pace of change. New roles are being created in banks to address digital trends. For example, you now find banks with Chief Innovation Officers, Innovation Managers and Head of Digital and Alternate Channels, with team members supporting them.
In line with these trends, skills around understanding customer trends and IT advancements to develop business solutions for customer acquisition and retention, revenue generation and cost reduction, become critical in banking. To satisfy this need, universities have begun to realign their course offerings to address the needs of today’s young students. Several top schools now offer undergraduate and masters’ degrees combining Business, Finance and IT with innovation. Nigerian educational institutions need to get on this train. I note that some short courses already exist in universities such as Lagos Business School. Young people should be encouraged to study these courses to acquire the needed skillset to excel and become indispensable in the digital, fast paced business world. While traditional jobs that rely on repetitive and routine processes appear ultimately headed for replacement by emerging technology such as robotics, employees with digital, analytics, sales and relationship management skillsets will continue to excel.
Emerging IT-enabled Employment Opportunities for Nigeria’s Teeming Youths
Undoubtedly, Nigeria’s growing young adult population has become an integral part of a global phenomenon in technology. As Nigerians experienced “IT inclusion”, online communities have evolved.
Nigerians are founding members of a global IT village and among the first generation of IT utility consumers. One can truly and boldly say that Nigerians are early and fast adopters and consumers of IT utilities e.g. cellular mobile phones, data plans, email and social media. Also, as cellular mobile phones have evolved into powerful “handhelds”, Nigerian users have become familiar with real computing power and digital experiences.
Nigeria now boasts of IT technicians and professionals to match any in the world e.g. Chukwuemeka Afigbo, who manages Facebook’s Strategic Product Partnerships for Sub Saharan Africa, Ibrahim Sekoni and Olaoluwa Okelola, two top Facebook software engineers, Seun Osewa, CEO, Nairaland, Jason Njoku of Irokotv, Seyi Taylor of Big Cabal Media, and so many others.
After watching a recent interview with an Andela executive on CNN, I was fascinated and I went to Andela’s website. Andela challenges young Nigerians and Kenyans to “dream of using technology to change the world”. The Andela Movement promises to ensure that while the digital revolution may have begun in Silicon Valley, its future will be in Lagos, Nairobi and cities across Africa.
Andela offers young Nigerians a 4 year paid Technical Leadership Programme designed to sharpen them into elite software developers, who can then go on to become global technology leaders, founders of their own IT companies or senior managers at Andela or local and global IT companies. When asked why Andela was doing this, the executive asserted that the demand for elite software developers in the USA far outstrips supply.
Computer-related courses and curricula have become more accessible, and those with particular affinity for all things digital and data have been able to develop professional skills.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission report for September 2016, there are over 93 million internet subscribers in Nigeria and a growing number of Nigerians are adopting mobile telephony. It is estimated that over 16 million Nigerians use social media and a growing number are using technological services for their business transactions, thus providing a huge opportunity for IT service providers.
E-commerce
E-commerce is a growing business model across the world and in Nigeria. According to a recent report by Interswitch, an electronic payment platform, there are over 200,000 active debit cards in Nigeria, and a single financial institution processed up to 100 million transactions in a single month. According to data released by Kinnevik, Konga, the online marketplace, has 184,000 active customers, 80% of whom access the site through their mobile phones. This shows that there is much work to be done in this sector and that opportunities exist in it.
According to data from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2015, global retail e-commerce was worth $22.2 trillion, with China generating the bulk of these transactions.
E-commerce has disrupted the way we buy and sell; I can go grocery shopping from the comfort of my bedroom. Just imagine the impact this is making across the value chain: somebody enables this transaction, another person bags the order placed and a delivery man delivers to my house.
Motorcycle delivery business to support e-commerce is also a growing opportunity. The idea of okada as a means of transportation has always been popular in Nigeria; the growth of e-retail makes this mode of transportation even more important. An entrepreneur can start an independent motorcycle delivery service for online market places and businesses, thereby creating jobs and generating income.
Nigerians are beginning to adopt and are building their lives around technological innovations. Therefore, suppliers of goods and services must see IT as a core part of their business models. Technology is creating new markets and business ventures and disrupting all markets – creating new opportunities in the process. Nigerians are part of a global village of saleable skills and data utilities. The telecommunications infrastructure highlighted that Nigeria’s mode of adopting technology is leapfrogging.
Infrastructure Development
For each of the sectors listed below, you will find that the same way telecoms companies and banks typically have more than one data centre , the growing need for infrastructure development in Nigeria will provide a multitude of employment opportunities in data centres, end-user/end-point management/support, application development and testing, business analysis and project management.
Transportation.
Modern railways rely on digital signalling for both track safety and for timetable development and compliance. Imagine a network of modern railways across Nigeria and the resulting reliance on IT support skills and personnel.
Delivery of Government Services.
Dissemination of information, provision of services such as tax returns, social welfare, census-related services, will increasingly be through online portals. Government agencies will need to develop, maintain and refresh the portal and content for such services, as well as store and enrich resulting data for improved service delivery.
Drone Transportation and Drone pilots.
The increasing reliability and affordability of drones, coupled with near total coverage of the landscape by cellular telecommunications infrastructure, will enable the increase in signaling and piloting of unmanned drones to deliver payloads of different sizes and utility. Use of drones will range from delivery of goods bought online, to delivery of essential medical supplies affordably and reliably to remote locations.
Agriculture.
With some of the best arable land in the world, Nigeria’s agricultural sector is limited by the difficulty in evacuating produce from isolated farms to town and cities with the density and affluence to consume it. Enter again the use of drones to transport harvest directly to accessible marketplaces, or to the nearest point of presence of the network of railways mentioned earlier.
Global Technology Hub.
With the growth in IT skills among the population, Nigeria will become a global technology hub for application development, as well as global data centre services. This will boost GDP and generate FOREX.
Social media, publishing and blogging
Publishing firms are investing heavily in online (digital) infrastructures and building a business model around social media and digital technology. Blogging has disrupted the way we consume information and how media businesses are run. Bloggers attain celebrity status and make money from doing something they enjoy. They don’t have to write a CV or send a CV to anyone; they don’t need to flirt with the HR Head. They have simply monetized a passion e.g. the love of food or the love of clothes. We all have passions; have you seriously considered monetizing your passion? Let’s be clear about the word “passion”.
Virtual working & Outsourcing
Businesses now conveniently outsource or subcontract work through online crowdsourcing sites and market places. This has revolutionized the way work is done and how skilled workers earn money. Outsourcing allows a business to minimize the cost of employing, training and maintaining employees.
There is the fascinating case of Julia Elliot-Brown, and her sister. Both women – proud UK based wives and mothers – teamed together to start a bespoke shoe business. Their business model allows customers to design their own shoes using plug-ins on the company website and place an order online. Elliot-Brown and her sister, who have no experience in shoe making or fashion, outsource the orders to shoemakers in Hong Kong and receive the finished product in a matter of weeks. Both women are now employers of labour and have become millionaires simply by adopting technology and having a lean business structure.
With virtual working, talent is not tied down to a particular organisation, but can generate multiple income streams while working from home. This would work well for us women, who are often saddled with the task of raising and caring for the family. So, a nursing mother can make a living without actually leaving her house, without applying for maternity leave and without offending male supervisors who are often biased against pregnant workers.
According to the U.S Freelancers Union, in 2013 alone, nearly a third (42 million people) of the country’s workforce were freelancer workers. The union estimates that by the year 2020, 40% of the U.S workforce will be independent workers, working from their homes or any location they choose to. Technology giant, Apple, is a perfect example of an organization that has adopted the concept of virtual working. Apple has an ‘At Home Advisor’ position that allows company employees to work remotely as customer support agents. Xerox, Dell, Amazon, IBM, General Electric, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, and PricewaterhouseCoopers are some of the companies that have adopted remote working and each has reported increased employee productivity.
The older demographic
Advances in medicine have helped lengthen average longevity. From 37.18 years for both men and women in 1960, the average age of men and women in Nigeria has increased to 53.4 and 55.6, respectively. Note that Nigerian women live longer!! This must be the 8th wonder of the modern world!!
According to the NBS, the unemployment rates of the older labour force demographic are as follows:
Age 35-44: 19 million labour force population. 8.1 percent or 1.5million unemployed.
Age 45-54: 13.4 million labour force population. 7.6 percent or 1.0 million unemployed.
Age 55-64: 7.7 million labour force population. 8.5 percent or 651,000 unemployed.
In Nigeria, the average official retirement age is 60 – 65. However, many people above 60 years are still willing and able to continue working. The realities of Nigeria’s economic situation make this a necessity for many.
Virtual work is highly recommended for this demographic. The ability to earn an income without going into the workplace every day for 8 hours, with the attendant stress, should be embraced. However, in order to be relevant and competitive, irrespective of their age, they must hone their IT skills. Younger, IT-savvy people are being employed for diversity, succession planning as well as for the creativity and freshness of perspectives which they bring.
If older workers are to survive in an IT-led marketplace, we older workers cannot afford to be less IT savvy than the younger people with whom we are competing for work!
Why do Nigerian women tend to stop driving once they hit 60?
Funding for startups
Funding is an issue for Nigerian start-ups and entrepreneurs and it has become even less affordable at current interest rates. Thanks to technology, today’s startup founders have never had it so good. The internet and various social media platforms offer countless free tips on virtually everything, from writing a business plan to affordable advertising packages. The ability to use platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. to showcase products and conduct business via e-commerce marketplaces has brought down the cost of doing business.
Social media advertising is much cheaper, accessible, and easier, with wider reach than many other forms of advertising. The cost of an ad on Facebook, for instance, ranges from as low as $5 to thousands of dollars; and it can be tweaked so the ad is shown to people within a certain target market, thus making the services much more valuable. Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat are not different either.
eMarketer, a digital data provider, estimates that the global spending on social media advertising will hit about $36 billion by the year 2017, a gigantic leap from $23.7 billion spent in 2015. Facebook reportedly has 1.71 billion monthly active users – 16 million of whom are from Nigeria – as at the second quarter of 2016, and the social media giant is expected to make $15.18 per user worldwide, this year. This is proof that, more than anything, social media is a goldmine for startups, entrepreneurs and even established organizations.
Conclusion
This is an exciting age and time, mostly because endless exciting IT-enabled opportunities abound across all sectors for people of all ages. For Nigeria’s 78.5 million strong labour force, several opportunities exist in today’s world to create a market for yourself, make work exciting, monetize what you enjoy doing and even create jobs while you are at it.
Finally, the flexibility offered by IT and the other emerging work trends represents a means of closing the gender unemployment gap.
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