E-Business
Local Content Development: A Bridge to Unemployment & Diversification
Nigeria is currently at an interesting crossroad in its economic journey. The country’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria is implementing policies to counter the effect of the reduced forex inflow into the country as a result of the global crash in the price of oil – the country’s major export.
Some of those policies include placing limitations on individual and corporate overseas spending and shrinking the size of the secondary market for foreign exchange in a bid to wield more control over the demand and the supply chain for forex.
The import of this (pun unintended) is scarcity of foreign exchange which has led to unusually high rates in the secondary market.
Import items such as cars have been negatively affected by this policy and overseas trade where the average Nigerian has to change local currency to make dollar payments is taking a bashing.
While it is not all doom and gloom is that in the undergrowth of all these macro-economic issues, local manufacturing and local trade is getting some breathing space away from the stifling presence of imported goods which constitute a significant percentage of what is being consumed in the country.
As opined by Co-founder of cokodeal.com Olufemi Aguda, cokodeal.com is an ecommerce for local manufacturing and local trade export.
Even the demand for used-in-Nigeria cars, is starting to look more attractive with almost 30% increase in the price of imported cars in 2015.
Even though all of these have been precipitated by a decline in global oil sales, as it presents a silver lining for any serious government to capitalize on the development of its local content.
In the times of prosperity there might have not been a strong justification to move in that direction but in dire times, it appears a sensible thing to do and I want to believe it will be easier to sell to the electorate who are not used to being denied the pleasures of enjoying imported products.
Such move, then allows local content handlers and e-commerce channels in the local content market sphere such as cokodeal.com to increase their market presence.
With cokodeal.com manufacturers and local producers can access new markets and trade goods beyond the shelf of the nation, improving the trade capacity of businesses and opening up new market.
Local content development is imperative to the growth of the nation in its aim for diversification and resolving unemployment.
The value proposition in this is that it offers the potential of creating employment in a grossly underemployed nation, reducing our reliance on oil and oil-based products which as we have seen in recent times can be far easily influenced by global forces outside the control of local and national governments and eventually translating into export trade which diversifies the channels for forex inflow into the country and makes it less susceptible to fluctuations in just one sector.
It is true that this call for local content promotion and diversification is not new, however, now of all times appears the best time to set the wheels of local production rolling ahead of the next wave of global oil crashes or the imminent global transition to cleaner energy which has even more potentially devastating possibilities of totally wiping out Nigeria’s singular income source.
Raymond Agholor is an e-commerce Blog Specialist
Nigerian government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced a strategic collaboration to strengthen cybersecurity and clean up the nation’s cyberspace.
Recognizing that cybercrime knows no borders, Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering stronger global partnerships within the cybersecurity ecosystem.
This announcement was made during a press conference before the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Abuja from July 9th to 11th, 2025.
Sa’ad Abubakar, national cybersecurity coordinator from the Office of National Security Advisor, said fighting cybercrime must take the whole of society and the whole of the government approach.
According to him, “Apart from the deterrent approach whereby government agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest individuals, take them to court and prosecute them, the youth can be nurtured into better citizens who can showcase their capacity in better ways and be useful to the country.”
Similarly, Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, also stressed the need for collaborative efforts in fighting cybercrimes.
According to him “Then, in addition to that, we also want to build a stronger global collaboration with the global cyber security ecosystem, because when you look at cybercrime in general, it doesn’t respect the borders.
“Someone can commit a crime from Ghana using a Nigerian ID in the US. So you can look at him physically in a different jurisdiction, pretending to be in another jurisdiction, committing the crime in another jurisdiction.
“So without that kind of synergy and working together, it will be difficult to address these challenges. The third one is challenge. The third one is getting an alternative to cybercrime for our kids in Nigeria. We have this as a major challenge.”
Inuwa further highlighted the upcoming conference’s importance, noting that it would tackle key issues through workshops, discussions on emerging threats, cross-border cybersecurity collaboration strategies, and training programmes.
He also announced that the National Cybersecurity Conference 2025 would feature the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognising top contributions in the field.
The DG extended an invitation to global partners to collaborate with Nigeria in building a safer digital future.
The press conference was attended by notable figures, including Ahmad Sa’ad Abubakar, National Coordinator of, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC); Hanniel Jafar, Representative of the President, of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); Ankit Shukla, Managing Director, QNA Marketing Management LLC and members of the press and other stakeholders.
XIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% stake in pan-African e-commerce company Jumia Technologies, citing the platform’s fintech and logistics strengths as key drivers of its backing.
This marks the first major telecom investment in Jumia since MTN Group’s exit in 2020.
AXIAN, a fast-growing telecom and digital services provider with operations across Africa, disclosed the purchase in a Schedule 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the financial terms were not disclosed, AXIAN Telecom CEO, Hassan Jaber, described the move as a strategic alignment with Jumia’s growth trajectory and digital ecosystem.
“Jumia’s achievements in digital retail and fintech, particularly through JumiaPay and its logistics network, make it a very attractive investment for us. We believe in Jumia’s potential to promote financial and economic inclusion, which aligns with our core values,” said Jaber.
Once dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia became the first African-founded tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.
But years of underperformance, leadership changes, and competitive pressures dented investor confidence.
In October 2020, South Africa’s MTN Group offloaded its 18.9% stake for $138 million, well below the $698 million value it once held post-IPO.
Since then, Jumia has undergone a significant transformation. Under CEO Francis Dufay, appointed in 2022, the company exited low-performing markets like South Africa and Tunisia, cut costs, and doubled down on core markets – Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco.
The firm is now focused on high-growth verticals, including everyday essentials and digital financial services.
Jumia’s regional CEO for East Africa, Vinod Goel, recently revealed plans to scale up international brand offerings and open its logistics network to third-party businesses.
Jaber underscored that AXIAN Telecom’s investment signals renewed confidence in Jumia’s long-term potential.
The telecom firm’s CEO said the company views Jumia as a key player in advancing Africa’s digital economy, aligning with AXIAN’s mission through its fintech and digital infrastructure brands such as Yas and Mixx by Yas.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general, National Identity management commission (NIMC) has said that the commission is set to register 95 percent of Nigerians into the National Identity Database before December 2025.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote,, DG, NIMC
She made this statement at a press briefing to highlight the commissions goal aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly on digital governance and inclusive development.
The mass enrollment drive will be powered by a combination of improved infrastructure, expanded registration centres, and robust public sensitization campaigns.
As of May 2025, NIMC reports over 120 million Nigerians have been enrolled, and about 100 million more would be captured by December.
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