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 Director, Commodities and Export Department of the ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Suleman Audu, who disclosed this recently in an event, said Nigeria was actively participating in the ongoing negotiation at the World Trade Organisation to boost e-commerce.
He said, “Nigeria has 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 the government to provide the required enabling environment.
“As such, the government has 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 the e-commerce value chain,” he said.
He added that the ministry was passionate about the growing investment opportunities in the e-commerce value chain which were capable of contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product.
He stated: “The current e-commerce spending in Nigeria is estimated at about $13bn per annum and is projected to rise to about $75bn 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 also show that Nigeria’s e-payment transactions increased by 85.5 per cent year-on-year to N171.99trn in August 2021.”
The Federal Government has said it was working to establish a strategy on e-commerce to further boost the growth of the sector.