Nigeria has raised global attention as the next big emerging market. 

Indeed, it is the most populous country in Africa and has the third-largest youth population, after India and China.  The middle class represents 25% of the population and is expected to grow over the years. Nigerians are quickly adopting technology as well as new consumption lifestyles. 

Nigeria has one of the most established ecosystems for entrepreneurs in Africa, with 55 “tech hubs” in 2018 and the most number of funding deals in 2016 on the continent. 

Jumia, Africa’s first unicorn, was launched in Nigeria in 2012 and spans e-commerce, jobs and finance.

Innovation in Nigeria is also supported by foreign tech giants that want to tap onto the country’s huge talent pool. IBM has launched its innovation center to fuel growth in Nigeria’s IT sector and support the use of advanced technology.  The Chinese tech giant Huawei, in partnership with Nigerian universities, plans to hold ICT competition to develop local talents. 10,000 students from 15 universities are expected to participate to this competition, in order to learn about ICT subjects, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobile networks and big data.

The mobile penetration in Nigeria is about 71% and the banking system is barely developed in Africa. The high rate of unbanked is an opportunity for the Fintech industry. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set a financial inclusion target of 80% by 2020. Commercial banks also help the digitalisation of the banking sector, as they all have a mobile application. 

Four among the ten most funded startups of Africa are from Nigeria, including 3 in Fintech (SureRemit, Lidya and Branch). Other success stories include Paga, a Lagos-based mobile payment company that is now going global, and Paystack, a company that develops online payment and raised funds from investors like Visa and Chinese tech giant Tencent.