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GSMA Highlights Nigeria’s AI-driven Path to Economic Growth and Climate Impact
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The GSMA has identified Nigeria as a pivotal player in the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) for driving socio-economic progress and climate impact in its new report, “AI for Africa: Use Cases Delivering Impact – Nigeria Deep Dive“.
It follows the continent-wide report, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which highlighted that while Africa currently accounts for only 2.5% of the global AI market, emerging AI applications hold the potential to boost African economic growth by an astonishing $2.9 trillion by 2030.
The newly-released analysis on Nigeria, also funded by the FCDO, highlights AI’s transformative capacity in the country in key sectors such as agriculture, energy and climate action, and underscores Nigeria’s potential to lead in AI-driven development across the continent.
Agriculture: enhancing productivity and food security
Agriculture remains a significant sector in Nigeria, employing nearly 40% of the population and contributing a quarter of the GDP. The report identifies substantial opportunities for AI and digital technologies to enhance resource efficiency, increase productivity, improve market access, and reduce post-harvest losses.
AI-powered solutions like Crop2Cash’s FarmAdvice and ThriveAgric’s Agricultural Operating System are already making strides by providing tailored advice and financial services to farmers.
However, challenges such as limited data availability, high costs, and a significant digital skills gap among smallholder farmers hinder the widespread adoption of AI.
Energy: optimising access and efficiency
Nigeria’s energy sector faces challenges including an ageing infrastructure and a reliance on fossil fuels. The deployment of AI technologies in the field remains nascent in Nigeria but has significant potential to improve energy distribution and reliability.
Innovations like Beacon Power Services’ AI-enabled grid management platform and Husk Power Systems’ AI-driven mini-grids can optimise energy usage and extend access to rural areas.
These solutions are critical in addressing the energy sector’s needs, providing both on-grid and off-grid systems with the tools to enhance efficiency and sustainability. Where access is lacking, AI could also play a role by helping inform energy planning and supporting the financing of solar appliances to reduce energy poverty.
Climate action: building resilience
Despite low greenhouse gas emissions, Nigeria is highly vulnerable to climate change. Existing AI-driven solutions include Google’s flood forecasting tool and Chemotronix, a carbon credit platform enabled by AI.
While climate-related AI applications are currently limited in Nigeria, there is potential to further leverage AI capabilities for climate action, especially around natural resource management.
Satellite imagery could help biodiversity mapping and monitoring, while climate modelling could help understand the future impact of climate change in highly polluted areas, helping Nigeria mitigate and adapt to environmental challenges.
Addressing key challenges
To fully leverage AI’s potential, the report identifies several critical areas of focus:
– Data availability and accessibility: investing in localised, domain-specific data collection and ensuring safe data handling practices are essential. Increasing access to high-quality data will help customise AI solutions to local needs.
– AI infrastructure and computing: expanding infrastructure, enhancing access to high-performance computing, and prioritising edge computing capabilities are necessary steps. Investments in these areas will support AI scalability and effectiveness.
– Skills development: enhancing AI and data science education, accelerating digital literacy, and building capacity for AI users and builders are vital. Developing a skilled workforce will drive innovation and adoption of AI technologies.
– Policy and ecosystem support: establishing clear policy roadmaps, encouraging cross-sector collaboration, and promoting local investment are key to fostering a robust AI ecosystem. Strengthening these areas will create an enabling environment for AI growth.
Strategic recommendations
The report provides targeted recommendations to support AI deployment in Nigeria:
– Invest in localised data collection: support the financing of hardware and devices, including drones, IoT sensors, and smartphones to accelerate data collection across sectors, and support initiatives building local language datasets.
– Enhance infrastructure and compute capabilities: invest in data centres, promote clean energy sources, and develop edge computing solutions for low-resource environments.
– Foster AI skills and education: capitalise on Nigeria’s young population by enhancing AI and data science curricula, providing scholarships, and supporting capacity-building initiatives.
– Strengthen AI ecosystem: encourage public-private partnerships, mitigate investment risks, and boost funding for R&D to promote innovation and sustainable development.
Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development at the GSMA, said: “Nigeria’s potential to harness AI for transformative change is immense. The innovative applications we are already seeing in agriculture, energy, and climate action are just the beginning. With further progress around data availability, connectivity, or skills development, the country can truly enable AI to drive significant socio-economic progress.”
News
TikTok Returns on Apple, Google US App Stores as Trump Delays Ban
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TikTok returned to the U.S. app stores of Apple and Google on Thursday as President Donald Trump delayed a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app and assured the tech giants they would not be fined for distributing or maintaining it.
The popular short video app used by nearly half of all Americans went dark briefly last month, before a law took effect on January 19 that requires its Chinese owner ByteDance either to sell it on national security grounds or face a ban.
The following day, Trump signed an executive order seeking to delay the enforcement of the ban by 75 days, allowing TikTok to continue its operations in the U.S. temporarily.
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump’s assurances, Google and Apple kept the app removed from their U.S. app stores.
TikTok, the second-most downloaded app in the U.S. last year, said on Thursday that its latest app was now available for download.
The delay could have been because Google and Apple were awaiting assurances that they would not be prosecuted for hosting or distributing the app, according to analysts.
Trump’s directive said the companies, which run mobile application stores or digital marketplaces where users can browse, download and update apps, would not face penalties for keeping the TikTok app up and running.
TikTok had more than 52 million downloads in 2024, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
About 52% of its total downloads were from Apple App Store, while 48% were from Google Play in the U.S. last year, Sensor Tower said.
The law that requires ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets or ultimately face a ban was signed by then President Joe Biden last April, triggered by national security concerns and fears that China could use the video-sharing app to spy on American users.
The U.S. has never banned a major social media platform and the law that passed last year gives the government sweeping authority to ban or seek the sale of other Chinese-owned apps. Trump said on Thursday that his 75-day deadline on TikTok could be extended.
The turmoil at TikTok attracted several potential buyers, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, who have expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion.
Trump has said that he was in talks with multiple people over TikTok’s purchase and would likely have a decision on the app’s future in February.
News
FG Order MDAs to Close Commercial Banks’ Accounts, Enforce TSA Policy
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Federal government has directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) operating in states to close their accounts with commercial banks and fully comply with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.
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Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the Federation,
The directive was issued by Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the Federation, during a working visit to the Federal Pay Office in Benin, Edo State.
This was disclosed in a statement released on Thursday by Bawa Mokwa, director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to the TSA policy, Madein warned that no MDA should operate accounts with commercial banks unless expressly approved by the President and officially communicated by her office.
The statement reads:
“While reiterating the Federal Government’s commitment to the Treasury Single Account policy, the Accountant-General of the Federation urged the Federal Pay Officers to monitor and ensure that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the States do not operate any account with the commercial banks or circumvent any provision of the TSA policy.”
She further stressed that any exceptions must follow strict guidelines, requiring presidential approval and formal communication from the Office of the Accountant-General.
Madein also tasked Federal Pay Officers (FPOs) with ensuring compliance, upholding transparency, and maintaining professionalism in their financial operations.
She warned against actions that could undermine the integrity of the Federal Treasury and emphasized the need for accurate financial record-keeping.
As part of ongoing reforms, she revealed that the Federal Government is constructing new Federal Pay Offices in some states to address infrastructure and operational challenges.
She assured that her office remains committed to the welfare of its personnel while enforcing compliance with financial regulations, including the Public Procurement Act and the Constitution.
Her visit to the Benin Federal Pay Office was part of a nationwide tour to assess the operations and challenges of Federal Pay Offices across the country.
News
NBRDA Investigates Biocatalysts for Bioethanol Production
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National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) is investigating the development of biocatalysts from underutilised bioresources through its Young Researchers Forum (YRF) research group for bioethanol production.
Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, director general, NBRDA sated this in an interview conducted in Abuja on Wednesday
Biocatalysts, which can be either bacteria or enzymes, are biological entities that accelerate chemical reactions.
An alcohol-based fuel derived from renewable resources such as plants and algae is called bioethanol. It can be blended with petrol or used in place of it to cut down on petroleum use.
He asserted that bioethanol is crucial and that Nigeria has the means to fully investigate its possibilities, noting that the production of bioethanol will be helpful in setting up bioethanol plants.
“However, the catalyst for the fermentation of sugar to produce ethanol is what we are after, and we have it locally.
“When we isolate the biocatalyst, it is going to be useful in helping to establish a bioethanol factory, which will function very well due to our varying weather conditions,’’ he said.
Bioethanol has similar uses to fuels used to generate other classes of energy like heat, motor power, transportation, and electricity, the NBRDA chief added.
According to him, bioethanol is the most widely used biofuel in modern civilisation, and the process of turning biomass into bioethanol is receiving a lot of attention.
“Biological energies are renewable fuels with minimal pollution and play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas pollution, and one of them is bioethanol, which is obtained from fermentation operations.
“The world’s attention to the use of bioethanol as an energy source is focused on reducing the cost of production and increasing the efficiency of the ethanol industry.
“By consuming ethanol fuel instead of fossil fuels, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions known to be the cause of global warming will be somehow reduced,’’ Mustapha said.
According to the D-G, the creation of the Young Researchers Forum (YRF) demonstrates the agency’s efforts to support nation-building.
He added that young biotech innovators chosen from across the agency’s departments will use the conference as a training ground and launching pad.
The YRF, according to Mustapha, was a manifestation of his wish to establish an institutional framework for mentoring that would close generational divides.
He stated that one of the projects the YRF would concentrate on was the development of biocatalysts for the manufacture of bioethanol.
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