The current yearly e-commerce spending in Nigeria is estimated at $13 billion. Dr. Evelyn Ngige, Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, who stated this in Abuja at the Second National E-commerce Roundtable Session in Nigeria, also said e-commerce is projected to rise to about $75billion in revenue per annum by 2025.
Evelyn Ngige, represented by the Director, Commodities and Export Department in the Ministry, Mr. Suleiman Audu, said e-commerce has grown from 14% in 2019 to 17% in 2020, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has turned global attention to the importance of e-commerce in the conduct of businesses and social activities
Nigige also said her ministry was passionate about the growing Investment opportunities in the e-commerce value chain, which are capable of contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP).She added that e-commerce provides an alternative to sustain businesses and preserve millions of jobs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking further on the benefits of e-commerce to the nation’s economy, Ngige said: “This encouraging trend has attracted the entrance of payment providers into the e-commerce market.
“In addition, the demand for electronic transactions has attracted payment facilitators from Europe and Asia, who are now investing in Nigeria’s electronic infrastructure projects.”
She further pointed out that the event would provide an opportunity for critical stakeholders to develop a strategic framework that would improve the performance of the e-commerce sub-sector in the country. She also noted that the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment has prioritised e-commerce as a major programme that would play a critical role in the promotion of commodity trade especially, with the current realities of the unprecedented global pandemic.
Also speaking, Mr. Suleiman Audu, Director, Commodities and Export Department(CED) in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, underscored the need to support the government’s efforts to develop the economy, reduce over-dependence on the oil sector by focusing on the development of non-oil commodity sector to enhance productivity, create jobs and ensure sustainability in revenue generation.
In a related development, an e-commerce platform, Konga is partnering with the Federal Government to generate creative employment for millions of Nigerian youths. The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, commended the e-commerce platform while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to seal their partnership in Abuja recently.
According to Dare, Konga, as a digital platform, had the immense capacity to help re-write Nigeria’s unemployment narrative. In the minister’s words,“ We at the Ministry of Youth and Sports are of the view that public-private partnerships remain the way forward when it comes to the onerous task of creating opportunities for our youths. We are delighted to have a technology-driven partner such as Konga partnering with us on this programme”.