General News
Netpreneur: The Rise of Nigeria’s Digital Whiz
By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke
It is no longer unusual for Nigerians to introduce themselves as netpreneurs since the digital and technology age has introduced groundbreaking changes to the way business is being done. Nigeria’s growing economy has undoubtedly felt the impact.
Contemporarily, you simply need an internet-savvy smartphone and in some cases, a well-designed website to get the badge of a netpreneur. So, who is a netpreneur? A netpreneur – short for internet entrepreneur – is an individual who sells his merchandise or service via the Internet.
It is, therefore, unsurprising that an increasing number of Nigerians are aggressively taking advantage of the internet to carve a life for themselves by making their business sojourn online as either a side hustle or a full-time job.
However, it is not only Nigerians who are venturing into the online world. Before this frenzy to become a netpreneur started, ecommerce firms like Jumia and some others have left their footprint in the sands of online business.
Then, a good number of Nigerians never thought that business could actually be done online. With the possibility and popularity which Jumia gave online business, Nigerians began to troop into the world of ecommerce.
This gradually gave rise to the digital whizkid. The digital whizkid uses social media to transact his business. He/she simply post good pictures of his/her products on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Such an individual is just a direct message away from receiving an order request from potential customers. This is quite seamless and attractive.
Furthermore, the travel industry is currently benefiting from this as young tour operators take advantage of social media to market their tours and they have actually been getting people who are willing to go on tour with them. As an added incentive, Jumia’s hotel and flight services have been partnering with some of these tour operators to help them push their packages. This has assisted in no small measures to promote Nigeria’s tourist attractions.
Meanwhile, while these Nigerians are using social media. others go the extra mile to set up a website for either their product or service and use social media for marketing their product. Hence, the netpreneurs behind this do not need to spend extra to market their businesses because they have social media at their disposal for that purpose.
Lessons digital whiz can learn from big online brands
There is no discrimination when it comes to being a netpreneur because as long as you are doing a business online, you are one. This said, there are some big players and pacesetters like Jumia when it comes to doing business online and there is so much these digital whizzes can learn. Some of these things include (1) Reliability and trust: A lot of fraudulent activities take place with online businesses. Thankfully, Jumia has invested heavily in technology to fight fraud and even has its own payment gateway, Jumia Pay to ensure that payments are securely and safely processed. For the digital whiz, they simply need to ensure that orders are delivered when they receive the customer’s alert.
(2) Listen to what customers are saying: understanding who your customers are is critical to being a successful business, no matter the size of your business. All startups and small businesses start with an idea. It can be easy for a small business owner to want to drive every business decision by their initial concept and do what they think is right to get their product or service in the hands of the customers.
(3) Know who you are: Putting processes and procedures together not only helps to organise the business, but they also help companies define what kind of business they want to be. Big companies have strong brand personalities that people can identify with. They know who they are and they know who they want to target; small businesses need to aim to achieve the same.
The netpreneur trend is awesome especially for Nigeria because it is a good way to start up a business with small capital. If the digital whizzes can actually learn from the big players in the online world; in no time, they will become one of the most recognised netpreneurs in the country.
Nigeria has plans to launch a $40 million fund to support early-stage tech startups, aiming to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and reduce young companies’ reliance on private investors.
The fund will be equally financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), which manages the national sovereign wealth fund.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), confirmed the final agreement would be signed within the next month.
The initiative is part of Nigeria’s Startup Act, adopted in October 2022, which aims to create a favorable environment for startups through tax incentives and financial support.
The act established a 10 billion naira (approximately $8.6 million) annual fund to finance certified startups through seed funding, grants, or loans.
According to Disrupt Africa, Nigeria’s startup ecosystem attracted over $2 billion in investments between January 2015 and August 2022, positioning the country as Africa’s leader.
Companies like Flutterwave, Andela, and Opay achieved multi-billion-dollar valuations.
, fundraising dropped to $224 million in 2023, down from $531 million in 2022 and over $1 billion in 2021.
This decline highlights the need for government intervention to revitalize the tech ecosystem amid investor caution.
The new fund marks a significant step for Nigeria, which aims to foster local innovation.
Currently, 12,948 companies are registered as startups, benefiting from a three-year tax exemption. Low awareness of the law’s benefits has prompted the government to plan a nationwide information campaign.
By facilitating access to funding, the initiative could strengthen support for existing startups and stimulate new tech ventures, reinforcing Nigeria’s position as a leading hub for digital innovation in Africa.
Eight countries – six of them in Africa, including Nigeria, Kenya and Lesotho – could soon run out of HIV drugs following the US government’s recent decision to pause foreign aid, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
US President Donald Trump announced the freeze on his first day in office in January as part of a review into government spending.
“Disruptions to HIV programmes could undo 20 years of progress,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief warned.
It could also lead to more than 10 million additional cases of HIV and three million HIV-related deaths, he added, noting this was “more than triple the number of deaths last year”.
Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, South Sudan, Burkina Faso and Mali – as well as Haiti and Ukraine – would run out of live-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines in the coming months, Dr Tedros said at a press conference on Monday.
Trump’s executive order paused foreign aid support for an initial duration of 90 days in line with his “America First” foreign policy.
It has affected health programmes around the world, leaving shipments of critical medical supplies, including HIV drugs, greatly hampered.
The majority of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) programmes have since been terminated.
Despite a waiver issued in February for the US’s ground-breaking HIV programme, its work has severely impacted.
Known as the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), it relies on logistical support from USAID and other organisations hit by the turmoil.
It has led to the “immediate stop to services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention in more than 50 countries”, Dr Tedros said.
Launched in 2003, Pepfar has enabled some of the world’s poorest people to access anti and has been credited with saving more than 26 million lives worldwide.
During his first days in office, Trump also announced that the US would pull out of the WHO, affecting funding for the global health agency.
“The US administration has been extremely generous over many years. And of course, it’s within its rights to decide what it supports and to what extent,” Dr Tedros said.
“But the US also has a responsibility to ensure that if it withdraws direct funding for countries, it’s done in an orderly and humane way that allows them to find alternative sources of funding.
An estimated 25 million people are living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, which is more than two-thirds of the global total 38 million people living with the disease.
In Nigeria, nearly two million people are living with HIV, with many relying on receiving aid-funded medicines.
Kenya has the seventh-largest number of people living with HIV in the world, at around 1.4 million, according to WHO data.
“We ask the US to reconsider its support for global health, which not only saves lives around the world, it also makes the US safer by preventing outbreaks from spreading internationally,” Dr Tedros said.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced that as of February 28, 2025, the number of Nigerians enrolled in the National Identification Number (NIN) database has reached 117.3 million.
This marks a significant increase of over seven million registrations since September 2024, when the figure stood at 110 million.
Gender and State Distribution
The latest statistics reveal that 56.5% of registered individuals are male, totaling 66.2 million, while 43.5% are female, at 51.07 million.
Among states, Lagos leads with 12.6 million registrations, followed by Kano with 10.2 million and Kaduna with 6.9 million.
This is consistent with the high populations in Lagos and Kano.
Other states with notable enrolment numbers include:
Ogun (4.9 million),
Oyo (4.5 million),
Katsina (4 million).
In contrast,
Bayelsa (758,111),
Ebonyi (990,775),
have the lowest enrolment figures.
The government has been emphasising the need for citizens to link their NIN to access essential services, including social services, financial transactions, and telecommunications.
A well-developed and accessible digital ID system is seen as vital for effective digital governance.
Beyond strengthening security and promoting transparency, this initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of service delivery across the country.
Nigeria to Launch $40 Million Fund for Tech Startups
NAFDAC Destroys over N1 Trillion Fake Drugs in Anambra
Visa to Establish Data Centre in Nigeria to ‘Boost Digital Economy’
Nigeria, Kenya among Nations Running out of HIV Drugs – WHO
Nigeria Still Open Crypto Business despite $80Bn Lawsuit against Binance – FG
E-Financial2 days agoFIRS Partners Flutterwave for Digital Payment Collection
Broadcasting2 days agoPublic Outrage, Legal Threats as Abuja Council Demands N500, 000 as TV Levy
Telecom2 days agoNigeria Charts New Course to Bridge Gender Digital Divide at UN’s CSW69
General News2 days agoNIN Enrolment Hits 117.3m – NIMC
E-Financial2 days agoZuriel Oduwole, Sterling One Foundation, and Sanwo-Olu Champion Gender Equality and Youth Empowerment
E-Financial2 days agoBOI Launches N10Bn GLOW Fund for Female Entrepreneurs
News2 days agoFG Invests N2.5Bn in Satellite Surveillance System to Revolutionise Mining Sector
News2 days agoTinubu Appoints Olukayode Gregory Pioneer Registrar of New Federal University