With global trends shifting towards technology, new findings reveal that financial services within Nigeria’s digital economy could add US$88 billion and create over 3 million new jobs over the next 10 years, Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Okechukwu Enelemah have said.
The minister’s assertion follows a resolve by developing countries namely Nigeria, Mexico, Kenya, Argentina, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica and Pakistan under the auspices of Friends of E-commerce for Development (FED) to put forward a policy agenda to bridge the digital divide as well as provide development solutions in the long term, during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland today.
A statement from the Ministry of Industry on Tuesday said the job figures are in line with estimates of a study carried out by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). Further studies indicate that potential gains of the digital economy will be manifest in digital accounts, payments, mobile money, health and educational services and other sectors of the economy.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah who led the Nigerian delegation to Geneva, explained in the statement that the Ministry is already developing the “Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project” and that the objective is to solve efficiency problems and leap-frog opportunities in the economy, improve competitiveness and foster technology development and innovation.
“The Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project is the country’s response to an area of intense economic and technological activity by Nigerian youths, where there is a growing pool of talent.
“It is a sector of the economy where the private sector already has ownership. The role of government would therefore be to ensure a sound pro-competitive regulatory environment and hardware infrastructure to foster rapid growth of this area,” Enelamah added.
The Minister also shared the fact that there are currently 150 million active mobile users in the country of 170m, of which over 60% are connected to the internet. There are some 17m Facebook users and new technology start ups and young people writing apps that solve problems and spur growth
Lagos, the largest commercial city in Africa accommodates some of Africa’s well-known consumer tech businesses such as iRokotv, Hotels.ng, Jobberman, Andela, Balogun market, and Truppr.com.
