Telecom
Leveraging Digital Marketing Tactics to Drive e-commerce Sales
By Tintin Imevbore, Regional West Africa Manager, Ad Dynamo by Aleph
The rapid advancement of digital technologies hasn’t just dramatically changed the way businesses operate, but has also allowed for real time communication between businesses and their customers.
Although digital marketing is no different from any other type of marketing, it has become increasingly important because of the sheer scale of internet users globally and the potential to reach much bigger audiences. As of January 2023, there were 5.16 billion internet users globally.
And in Africa, where innovation in digital technology and cell phone applications have given millions of users access to products and services they never had access to before, digital marketing can help e-commerce platforms tap into the continent’s potential.
While the percentage of internet users in Africa is still well below the global average, the rising numbers show the potential. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria are not only some of the countries with the highest number of internet users in Africa, but are also among the countries with the highest potential because of thriving tech sectors.
In order to take advantage of that growth potential, there are small steps any e-commerce business can take to leverage digital marketing strategies to widen its digital footprint and increase its sales. One of the best digital marketing strategies an e-commerce business can lean on is personalising the customer experience and delivering personalised experiences to customers throughout their e-commerce journey.
In the US, about 90% of consumers said they find personalisation either “very” or “somewhat” appealing, while more than 80% of consumers said they wanted brands they engaged with to understand them better. By providing a personalised touch, a business can create a sense of value and build long-term customer loyalty.
Optimising for mobile should be a priority for any e-commerce business wanting to increase their sales. Mobile devices play a dominant role in internet usage across Nigeria and Ghana. In Nigeria, where 52.4% of users buy something online each week using a mobile device, it is almost level with the global average of 57.6%. About a quarter of users in Ghana use a mobile device to make purchases online.
Investing in and implementing search engine optimisation (SEO) is also an essential digital marketing strategy that can help e-commerce businesses increase sales. The most important elements to consider when optimising a web page for search engines include the quality of the content, the level of user engagement, mobile-friendliness, and the number and quality of inbound links. The key is to develop engaging and informative content that resonates with the customers’ interests and needs.
Being on the right platform is vital for any of those strategies to work effectively, and partnering with a media buying agency that knows how to maximise presence. Being present on the right platforms seems obvious, but with the ever evolving competition and evolution of algorithms, it’s simply not enough to have a presence on the likes of Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Spotify, or Snapchat because they’re the most popular platforms. You also have to ensure that you’re reaching your target audience with the right messaging to match their expectations of those platforms.
This is where the importance of selecting the right digital marketing and e-commerce experts come in. Finding the right agency that knows your business and industry like the back of their hand will set you up for further success and peace of mind.
The right advisors would not only help with better content, but they would be able to provide you with technical expertise and solutions appropriate for your needs, while offering confident guidance.
E-commerce consultants can help your business reach new heights with the rapidly changing and evolving industries. They can help you and your business bridge the gaps in e-commerce strategy and technology, while improving the performance of your business. If you want to ensure your investment in the right advisors and consultants is effective, you should search for the kind of advisors who match your business’s needs and requirements.
Ultimately, with the right mix of creative digital marketing strategies, resilience, adaptability, and partnering with the right digital media buying partner, any e-commerce business can succeed on the continent despite the mix of physical and digital infrastructure constraints which many African countries face
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has announced the launch of an Inter-Agency Innovation Competition and Awards to stimulate creativity and technological advancement among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
NASENI
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, NASENI said the initiative was designed to harness innovative ideas from public servants that can drive indigenous industrialization, job creation and national progress.
According to the agency, the competition will provide a platform for MDAs to propose solutions in critical sectors such as health, agriculture, education and infrastructure, leveraging science and technology to improve public service delivery and enhance the quality of life for Nigerians.
“The competition seeks to promote collaboration and creativity among MDAs while addressing pressing national challenges through innovation,” the statement said.
NASENI urged interested MDAs to submit their entries through its innovation portal at naseni.gov.ng/innovation.
The agency reiterated its statutory mission “to develop and maintain a dynamic infrastructure to drive Nigeria’s indigenous industrialization, job creation and national progress,” adding that the competition would further strengthen efforts to unlock the nation’s potential through science and technology.
Users of satellite internet service provider Starlink in Nigeria are being required to complete a biometric Know Your Customer (KYC) process as a precondition to continue enjoying their services, according to .biometricupdate.
According to local reports, more than 66,000 Starlink subscribers in the country had a December 31 ultimatum from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to complete the biometric verification or have their connection discontinued.
The process essentially entails linking a Starlkink account with the subscriber’s national digital ID.
The NCC, which is Nigeria’s telecoms industry regulator, is said to have first issued the directive in August last year, setting a three-month deadline which was to elapse on November 19, TechCabal reports.
The body however later extended it to December 31 after consultations with industry stakeholders. The internet account-NIN linkage, the NCC said, is to enhance identity verification and strengthen security within the country’s telecoms space.
Just a few days to the December 31 deadline, Starlink’s Nigeria office sent an email to its subscribers reminding them of the KYC requirement, and warned that all those who fail to comply would be disconnected.
And that once disconnected, reconnection would depend on network capacity in the concerned area.
The service provider said in its email that the process takes less than two minutes and users can complete it by logging in to their account via an app.
One user, quoted by TechCabal, said one needs to upload their selfie biometrics, provide their national identification number (NIN) and then give their consent for the account to be linked to their ID information.
Starlink’s internet service is present in about 155 countries with nine million users, as of 2025. Its growth in Nigeria is said to be rapid, making it the second largest internet service provider in the country, according to The Traffic.
Biometric identification for Starlink subscribers could become a continent-wide trend given that some countries have expressed reservations in opening up their internet space to the company over security concerns.
There’ve been fears that jihadists in countries like Mali and Nigeria may have exploited Starlink terminals to coordinate terror operations, and cybersecurity experts have also warned of risks related to weak regulation, digital sovereignty and data breaches.
The requirement for Starlink internet users to have their accounts linked with the NIN is similar to the SIM-NIN linkage policy which the Nigerian government battled to implement for many years, with many deadline extensions.
In October last year, the NCC, which is was at the forefront of the policy implementation, announced that all active SIM cards across all network providers had complied with the directive which was issued in 2020.
The idea, the federal government argued, was to strengthen security and curb criminality such as kidnappings which are aided and abetted by improperly identified mobile phone numbers.
Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has urged Northern Nigeria to pivot urgently from traditional commerce to an innovation-driven digital economy for sustainable growth.
NITDA
Inuwa issued the call at the Future Map Foundation Roundtable 1.0 (North-West Edition) in Kano, attributing the region’s sluggish digital adoption not to talent deficits but to the lack of deliberate, coordinated strategies.
He stressed deeper collaboration across academia, private sector players, entrepreneurs, and government, positioning the private sector as the primary innovation engine while government supplies robust policies and an enabling ecosystem.
Inuwa advocated for people-focused, locally tailored innovations that tackle regional challenges head-on, enabling global competitiveness by transitioning from mere technology users to creators of homegrown solutions.
The roundtable convened policymakers, tech founders, and ecosystem stakeholders to forge a comprehensive roadmap for North-West digital transformation, yielding firm commitments to bolster regional innovation policies and public-private synergies.
Inuwa’s push dovetails seamlessly with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which sets an ambitious target of 95 per cent nationwide digital literacy by 2030, fostering inclusive economic empowerment.
Participants hailed the forum as a pivotal step toward unlocking Northern Nigeria’s tech potential, with NITDA poised to lead implementation through strategic interventions and partnerships.
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