Nigeria’s E-commerce Market To Exceed $16bn By 2030 Amid Digital Transformation

The country’s e-commerce marketplace is expected to transcend $16 cardinal by 2030, supported by pioneering platforms similar Jumia and Konga arsenic integer translation heightens.

The dean, Lagos Business School(LBS), Professor Olayinka David-West, who stated this astatine the 35th yearly league of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) held connected Saturday successful Lagos nether the theme, ‘Bracing for the Digital Economy successful Nigeria: Taxation, Banking and Finance,’ emphasised the request for Nigeria to embark connected a transformative integer travel that tin redefine its system and importantly amended the prime of beingness for its citizens.

David-West, who was represented by Prof. Akintola Owolabi of the section of Cost and Management Accounting astatine LBS, stated that, the league taxable was timely and captious for Nigeria’s sustainable development.

David-West affirmed that, the strategical imaginativeness astatine LBS aligns intimately with advancing integer translation and promoting fiscal inclusion, aiming to make the leaders needed to navigate and thrust this emerging landscape. Nigeria’s integer system is undergoing singular growth, energised by a young and dynamic colonisation alongside accelerated integer adoption.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s 2024 report, net penetration has reached 43.5 per cent, with implicit 163 cardinal Nigerians online arsenic of March 2024. The telecommunications assemblage contributes astir 18 to 20 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, highlighting the captious relation of accusation and connection exertion (ICT) arsenic a driving unit successful the economy.

David-West pointed retired that, “this integer gyration transcends statistics; it reshapes commerce, services, and livelihoods. Our burgeoning e-commerce market, projected to transcend $16 cardinal by 2030, is fuelled by trailblazing platforms similar Jumia and Konga.

“Innovative logistics startups specified arsenic Kwik and GIGL exemplify however integer technologies spawn wholly caller worth chains, enhancing efficiencies and expanding economical opportunities. Such developments committedness exponential employment gains, diversification distant from lipid dependence, and transformative work transportation crossed sectors.”

The Nigerian fiscal sector, she said, is some a operator and beneficiary of the integer gyration and that, successful 2024, Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem attracted implicit $2 cardinal successful investments, sustaining its presumption arsenic the continent’s fiscal exertion powerhouse, adding that, this superior influx is propelling groundbreaking innovations that redefine fiscal transactions and inclusion.

She besides said, starring Nigerian banks, including Access Bank and GTBank, harness cutting-edge technologies similar Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to heighten fraud detection, personalise services, optimise recognition scoring, and deploy AI-enhanced lawsuit support.

Similarly and successful addressing taxation wrong the integer economy, she said, determination are some challenges and important opportunities for gross generation. Since January 2022, Nigeria has implemented a six per cent Digital Services Tax (DST) connected non-resident integer work providers, complementing existing VAT connected overseas integer services and capitalising connected the expanding integer marketplace, she stressed.

She cited an illustration of this initiative, which is the physics wealth transportation levy, which imposes a N50 interest connected recipients of slope transfers of N10,000 and above, serving arsenic a invaluable gross watercourse successful Nigeria’s evolving integer payments landscape.

David-West highlighted however integer payments and mobile wealth services tin service arsenic a instauration for formalising immense informal sectors, enhancing taxation compliance, and integrating businesses into ceremonial fiscal systems.

Looking ahead, she noted that, “the interconnection of integer translation crossed banking, finance, and taxation is simply a almighty catalyst for Nigeria’s economical growth. Seamless integer outgo systems facilitate businesslike taxation collection, broaden fiscal inclusion, and supply captious information for evidence-based policy-making and enforcement.”

According to her, encouragingly, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s sandbox framework, which is already operational, offers a controlled mounting for innovation wrong fintech, allowing for regulatory experimentation that supports the maturation of Nigeria’s integer fiscal landscape.  Meanwhile, the president of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), Chima Titus, said, ‘this year, our league taxable is some timely and urgent, focusing connected the integer economy, taxation, banking, and finance.’He said that, “globally, the integer system has evolved from being simply a promising frontier to a captious backbone of modern growth. In Nigeria and crossed Africa, we find ours...