Economy
Expanding Rural Participation in Nigeria’s Digital Economy
By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke
Nigeria’s digital economy is currently getting the much-needed attention from government and experts because of its endless potentials to cause a radical shift in the country’s economy. These can be backed by the statement of Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment who said recently that there are indications that investments in the digital economy will generate $88 billion and create three million jobs for Nigerians before the end of 2021.
From the Minister’s statement, it can be understood that the digital economy will be key to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
However, a major concern or worry for some stakeholders is that the participation in the digital economy is largely concentrated in the urban areas. Meanwhile, in the rural areas, their participation is quite skeletal largely because of the low internet penetration. To be more factual, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta said recently that 53% of Nigerians lack internet access and many of them are inhabitants of rural areas.
Nigeria’s Digital economy
So, what is the digital economy? According to Deloitte, “It’s the economic activity that results from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data, and processes.”
What is exciting about the digital economy is that it is unrestricted and borderless as it can reach anyone in any part of the world.
In Nigeria, we have seen huge contributions in the digital economy from e-commerce, fintech, aggrotech, and healthtech among others. These businesses have deployed digital technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the internet of things to solve crucial social problems and improve their bottom line.
In relation to e-commerce, Jumia has played a key role in accelerating Nigeria’s digital economy. The platform has encouraged and convinced Nigerians to buy things online, created jobs and generally encouraged trust in the online space.
Increasing rural participation
Business in rural areas is basically offline. This is probably because of inadequate internet access. Nevertheless, these areas cannot be left behind in the digital economy march. It is a goldmine waiting to be explored.
The first and only thing that must be done is for the government through the Nigerian Communication Commission to work with the telecommunication companies to identify and provide telephony services to underserved or unserved communities. If this can be done, there will be a steady increase in rural participation in the digital economy because businesses will move into these communities to do business.
In the meantime, some painstaking efforts are been made to increase rural participation despite the limited internet access.
Jumia, Nigeria’s No 1 shopping destination, has expanded its delivery services beyond Lagos to include Ibadan, Abeokuta, Port Harcourt and Abuja. In all of these cities, there are pockets of rural communities and their inhabitants who buy items online through Jumia Force (JForce) agents and are delivered to their doorsteps. Also, if you are searching for a hotel, Jumia’s hotel and flight services have over 9,000 hotels across the country. Therefore, whether you are in a rural or urban area you do not need to worry about where to stay. This reveals that Jumia is ready to send foot soldiers to these rural areas to educate, enlighten and at the end empower them to be part of the digital economy.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended rallied by 1.18 per cent on Friday, May 8, its fifth in a row for this week.
During the session, the market capitalisation increased by N28.96 billion to N2.488 trillion from N2.459 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumped by 48.39 points to 4,158.77 points from the 4,110.38 points recorded a day earlier.
The growth witnessed yesterday was spurred by the gains recorded by six securities, led by 11 Plc, which chalked up N11.00 to sell at 221.10 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N210.10 per unit. FrislandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N10.26 to close at N132.98 per share compared with the previous day’s N127.06 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc rose by N2.82 to N75.90 per unit from N73.08 per unit.
In addition, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc appreciated by 7 Kobo to 86 Kobo per share from 81 Kobo per share, UBN Property Plc climbed higher by 5 Kobo to N2.25 per unit from N2.20 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc gained 2 Kobo to close at N2.32 per share, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.30 per share.
Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 20 Kobo to N2.90 per unit from N3.10 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 5 Kobo to end at N16.95 per share versus N17.00 per share.
The volume of transactions for the session surged by 41.8 per cent to 528,891 units from 372,916 units, and the value grew by 11.4 per cent to N34.0 million from N30.4 million, while the number of deals slid by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion. Resourcery Plc occupied the second spot after trading 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and the third position was occupied by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock exchange reversed the previous day’s loss, with a 2.10 per cent surge on Friday as a result of demand for large-cap equities like Dangote Cement, First Holdco and others.
It was observed that apart from the insurance counter, which shed 0.37 per cent, every other sector closed higher yesterday.
The industrial goods index expanded by 7.26 per cent, the banking segment increased by 3.35 per cent, the consumer goods industry rose by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector soared by 0.14 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited improved by 5,041.22 points to 244,775.83 points from 239,734.61 points, and the market capitalisation added N3.235 trillion to settle at N157.094 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N153.859 trillion.
The quintet of Neimeth, Cadbury Nigeria, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, Mecure, and Dangote Cement led the advancers’ table on Friday, with 10.00 per cent growth each to quote at N9.90, N72.60, N3.52, N72.60, and N1,088.00, respectively.
On the flip side, the duo of UAC Nigeria and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 10.00 per cent each to sell for N171.00 and N42.30, respectively, as Eterna declined by 9.93 per cent to N33.55, Learn Africa slipped by 9.89 per cent to N8.20, and Deap Capital tripped by 9.69 per cent to N5.50.
The most active stock for the day was VFD Group, with a turnover of 102.9 million units valued at N1.1 billion. FCMB transacted 99.4 million units worth N1.1 billion, UBA traded 94.5 million units for N3.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 85.4 million units worth N2.0 billion, and Zenith Bank sold 46.5 million units valued at N5.8 billion.
At the close of trades, market participants traded 1.1 billion units worth N55.0 billion in 69,996 deals, in contrast to the 1.8 billion units valued at N72.2 billion transacted in 81,131 deals a day earlier, showing a crash in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 38.89 per cent, 23.82 per cent, and 13.73 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira fell against the US Dollar by N5.54 or 0.41 per cent to N1,361.39/$1 from N1,355.85/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 8.
The domestic currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.50 to trade at N1,853.68/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,845.18/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N9.37 to sell for N1,602.63/€1 versus N1,593.26/€1.
However, at the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N3 to quote at N1,372/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing value of N1,375/$1, and at the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,380/$1.
Despite the volatile outcome of the local currency, it remained within the expected trading range, reflecting sustained FX stabilisation efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), supported by improved liquidity, stronger autonomous inflows, and better price discovery.
Traders point to further gains for the Naira into the coming week, thanks to Dollar supply from foreign investors, exporters and oil companies, while demand is moderate. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves dropped by 3.4 per cent to $48.32 billion, from a 2009 high of $50.02 billion recorded on March 11.
In the cryptocurrency market, prices rallied after worries eased, following fresh US airstrikes in Iran that initially sparked a surge in oil prices and a broader risk-off move across crypto markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.8 per cent to sell at $80,212.54, Solana (SOL) gained 6.5 per cent to sell at $93.76, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 5.1 per cent to $0.2749, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 3.7 per cent to $0.1102, and Ripple (XRP) rose by 3.1 per cent to $1.42.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 2.3 per cent to $650.16, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $2,315.48, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3515, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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