Analysis

Can emerging economies improve access to digital services?
OBG
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While the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated a worldwide trend of digital transformation, inadequate infrastructure has hampered the shift in many emerging economies, limiting their capacity to fully capitalise on the opportunities stemming from the disruption. As such, it is necessary for public and private actors to collaborate on closing the gap, as high-quality ICT infrastructure is key to enhancing…

Analysis

How agri-tech will boost financing and mechanisation in Nigeria
OBG
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The pandemic has shone a light on vulnerabilities in the agriculture sector, and underscored the importance of ensuring food security and strengthening the agricultural chain. Some of the major problems that Nigerian farmers face include limited access to information and the market, insufficient financial support, and logistics and transport issues. However, agri-tech solutions are offering new support…

Analysis

How the pandemic fuelled e-commerce growth in Nigeria
OBG
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Although informal physical retail sales continue to dominate the Nigerian market, e-commerce has experienced exponential growth in recent years, culminating in a significant push towards online shopping in 2020-21 in the face of pandemic-induced lockdowns. Market Footprint Home to two of Africa’s big-five online retailers, the Nigerian e-commerce market was valued at about $12bn in 2019, according…

Analysis

Nigerian authorities look to mortgages to facilitate homeownership
OBG
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Even as the authorities work to create more opportunities for Nigerians to own affordable homes, mortgage penetration continues to be low. The ratio of outstanding mortgages to GDP was 0.5% in 2020 – up from 0.2% in 2019 – compared to 18.9% in Namibia, 16.2% in South Africa, 10.2% in Tunisia, 2.2% in Kenya and 1.6% in Ghana, according to the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF).…

Analysis

Nigeria joins regional agreements to boost trade
OBG
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Nigeria has prioritised improving its business climate in recent years, with an emphasis on developing its logistics and trade facilities. These efforts have paid off, with the country having the 10th-most improved ranking in the 2020 edition of the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. Improving 15 places from 2019, Nigeria’s overall score placed it 131st out of 190 countries in 2020 on the…

Analysis

Which large-scale projects are attracting private investment in Nigeria?
OBG
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In early 2021 the government launched a slate of major projects to help bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure gap. In support of this, the country’s leaders created the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria, or InfraCorp, in February of that year: a public-private fund to finance critical infrastructure such as railways and roads. The construction sector is expected to be a significant growth driver…

Analysis

Digital education to keep Nigeria’s young workforce competitive
OBG
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Securing appropriate funding for Nigeria’s education ecosystem remains one of the sector’s most important goals, and is key to improving outcomes. Underinvestment has created knock-on effects for the nation’s employment rate, with the private sector struggling to find qualified workers. More than half of all wage-paying jobs in the country are in the public sector – with around 80% of those…

Analysis

Kaduna turns to private investment to boost value-added production
OBG
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The manufacturing industry, which was an important component of Kaduna’s economy in the 1970s, has seen a steady decline in the decades since. The local authorities have been keen to kick-start light manufacturing, particularly in the agro-allied industries, and expand activity in the solid minerals sector, which are expected to become a key driver of growth. However, industry and manufacturing remain…

Analysis

How Kaduna aims to develop the agricultural value chain
OBG
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Kaduna is actively seeking to attract investors to the agriculture sector, promoting a number of opportunities. The Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KAPIDA) has identified about 2.5m ha of uncultivated land with abundant water resources to support commercial farming, livestock and fishery businesses, and welcomes investors to take advantage of the state’s potential. Indeed, the economy is primarily…

Analysis

How is Nigeria's Covid-19 vaccine rollout faring?
OBG
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The first case of Covid-19 in Nigeria was recorded on February 27, 2020 in Lagos, and as of end-September 2021 around 205,800 confirmed cases and 2720 deaths had been recorded. The country experienced its first wave of the virus in the middle months of 2020, a larger wave at the end of 2020 and into 2021, and a third wave emerged in July 2021. Controlling the Spread When the scale of the pandemic…