Technology & Innovation

Building a digital Nigeria

March 06, 2016

Africa

March 06, 2016

Africa
Adam Green

Senior editor, EMEA

Adam is a senior editor for The Economist Intelligence Unit's thought leadership division in EMEA, focusing primarily on the Middle East and Africa. In this role, he has worked on in-depth research studies, surveys, multimedia documentaries and infographics on topics ranging from healthcare to personal finance. Previously, Adam was Deputy Editor of This is Africa, a bimonthly magazine published by the Financial Times. He also worked as Communications Officer for the International Growth Centre, a research institute based at the London School of Economics and funded by the UK Department for International Development. Adam holds a Masters in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, with a grade of distinction, and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Leeds. His independent research and journalism has been published by the Middle East Institute.

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Building a digital Nigeria is an Economist Intelligence Unit report. The findings are based on desk research, interviews and fieldwork in Nigeria conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit. The research was sponsored by Accenture.

With a GDP of $568 billion, Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy. Home to more than 180 million people1 , it is also the continent’s most populous nation. Economic liberalisation has drawn investors from across the world, and the non-oil sector is growing at a healthy clip.

Digital technology is helping to drive growth in promising non-oil sectors, from media and entertainment to finance and fast-moving consumer goods. But while access to mobile and internet has increased steadily, it remains unequal. Low-income citizens, and those dwelling in rural and semi-urban regions, struggle to access these increasingly powerful services.

Improved access depends on Nigeria’s underlying ‘digital infrastructure’, which is affected by both sector-specific trends, and broader economic and political headwinds. This report, based on desk research and expert interviews, examines the role of digital in Nigeria’s current growth and the state - and future prospects - of its digital infrastructure.

Key findings: 

- Digital technology is essential for Nigeria’s economic diversification. Access to internet and mobile has improved markedly over the last decade, helping drive non-oil GDP growth. However, the country is still overly reliant on oil for public revenues and export earnings, and poverty rates are stubbornly high, suggesting the economic transformation has further to go.

- Nigeria faces a widening ‘digital divide’. ​While access to mobile and internet is increasing, this is largely among wealthier users with multiple devices and SIM cards, and is clustered in urban regions. Digital infrastructure, and thus access to internet, computing and mobile, lags in rural regions.

- In an era of low oil prices, the ICT sector is an important source of revenue for government: transparency and consistency are essential to balance fiscal needs with sector growth and investment.

 

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