FG to roll out schemes address poor investment in e-commerce to meet $75bn revenue target

The federal government has announced plans to increase investment in e-commerce to meet a 2025 $75 billion revenue projection.  The minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Otunba Niyi Adebayo stated this yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholder’s meeting on e-commerce and digital trade policy for Nigeria. Adebayo explained that as Nigeria aims for a shift from oil as a major foreign exchange earner, e-commerce and it’s associated trade services will be a veritable alternative. The minister who was represented by the  Director, Commodities and Export Department, of the ministry, Mr. Suleman Audu said Nigeria is actively participating in the on-going negotiation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in order to boost e-commerce. He said “Nigeria is yet to fully harness the inherent opportunities in the e-commerce value chain, largely due to inadequate investment, coupled with inadequate information on the opportunities in the sector and the inability of Government to provide the required enabling environment. 

“As such, government have identified e-commerce as a major priority programme that will play a critical role in the promotion of commodity trade, especially with the realities of the unprecedented Covid-19 global pandemic. The Federal Government is also committed to developing an e-commerce strategy in line with the Federal Government’s Post COVID-19 recovery plan, to encourage investment in e-commerce value chain,” he said. He added that the Ministry is passionate  about the growing investment opportunities in the e-commerce value chain which are capable of contributing significantly to the country’s GDP. Recently, the sector has grown from 14% in 2019 to 17% in 2020. The current e-commerce spending in Nigeria is estimated at about $13 billion per annum, and is projected to rise to about $75 billion in revenues per annum by 2025. The market outlook for Nigeria’s e-commerce shows that the number of online shoppers in the country, which was at 76.7 million in 2021, is expected to hit 122.5 million by 2025. The figures from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), also shows that Nigeria’s e-payment transactions increased by 85.5 per cent year-on-year to N171.99 trillion in August 2021,” he further stated. 

Adebayo said that the Federal Government will continue to strengthen collaboration with the State Governments and continue to build synergy amongst relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies through harmonisation and coordination of e-commerce activities under the National Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce and Digital economy (NACEDE) platform. He said the stakeholders are expected to brainstorm and come up with appropriate recommendations and ways forward for the development of e-commerce and digital trade policy in Nigeria which will stimulate trade across borders.