Nigeria’s once-thriving digital economy is showing signs of stagnation as industry experts warn that poor leadership, inconsistent regulation, and lack of strategic direction are threatening the country’s long-term competitiveness in the global technology space.
Despite being home to Africa’s largest tech talent pool and a growing population of digital consumers, analysts say Nigeria is gradually losing its edge to regional peers due to weak policy coordination and the absence of a clear roadmap for digital industrialization.
A recent analysis noted that Nigeria’s digital economy, once a major driver of foreign investment and innovation, has become increasingly dependent on foreign-owned platforms.
It described the country as a “client economy” one where local firms serve as subcontractors to global tech giants, rather than emerging as true industry leaders.
Experts also fault the government’s failure to consolidate oversight among key regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). Both institutions, critics argue, have been more reactive than strategic, allowing foreign technology companies to dominate fintech, data, and cloud infrastructure without corresponding safeguards for local players.
While broadband penetration has improved slightly, hovering around 50 per cent, structural challenges such as erratic power supply, poor last-mile connectivity, and high operational costs continue to stifle domestic innovation. Start-ups outside Lagos especially in the North and South-East struggle to scale due to limited funding and regulatory bottlenecks.
Analysts warn that if current trends persist, Nigeria risks becoming a major consumer of digital services rather than a producer, eroding its digital sovereignty and economic independence.
To reverse the slide, policy experts have called for a coherent digital industrial strategy anchored on local ownership, data localisation, competition safeguards, and investment in digital infrastructure.
They further emphasised that achieving sustainable growth will require political will, consistency in policy execution, and collaboration between the public and private sectors to nurture homegrown technology champions capable of driving Nigeria’s next phase of economic transformation.
