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Gabriel Uzor
The Federal Government is targeting to increase the level of e-commerce transactions from the 76.7 million which it was in 2021 to 122.5 million transactions by 2025.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Evelyn Ngige said this at the national sensitization workshop on e-commerce held in Kano.
Ngige was represented at the event by Mr Ahmed Goni, Deputy Director (Commodities) Commodities and Export Department of the Ministry
She described the event which was attended by stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem as apt and in line with the development agenda for Nigeria to develop the non-oil sector so as to create massive employment and sustain revenue earnings.
The Ministry had hosted two Roundtable Sessions on E-commerce in Abuja, in 2020 and 2021 respectively, and the events were successful with tremendous achievements.
She said this workshop therefore, is aimed at sensitizing the key stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem to harness the enormous opportunities in the value chain for growth and development.
Ngige said, “It is obvious that the global pandemic has affected major economic activities globally, which no doubt has brought about rise in unemployment rate, decline in revenue and increase in food security crises.
“We have no better time than now to diversify our economy towards the non-oil sector by building a dynamic, profitable and efficient commodity sector to reposition the economy on a sustainable growth path.
“In spite of the evolving positive trends of E-commerce market globally, Nigeria has not harnessed its inherent opportunities largely due to inadequate investment in the e-commerce value chain, coupled with inadequate information on the opportunities in the sector and the inability of the Government to provide the required enabling environment.”
She said e-commerce has shown to be an alternative to sustain businesses and preserve millions of jobs, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic had triggered a mass movement of shoppers to online shopping as lockdown persists all over the world in 2020.
Ngige added, “Distinguished Stakeholders, it is important to mention that our 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 per cent in 2019 to 17 per cent in 2020. 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.
“This event therefore, is expected to highlight critical issues that will guide stakeholders to take advantage of the growing opportunities in the e-commerce value chain.
“In addition, it is expected that the input of stakeholders will guide the Ministry in developing a National E-commerce Strategy for the development of the sector in Nigeria.
“It might interest you to note that, our Ministry has prioritized e-commerce as critical to the promotion of commodity trade in Nigeria.
“In view of the cross-cutting nature of e-commerce, our ministry is open to any form of collaboration that will support the development of the e-commerce ecosystem in Nigeria.”
