E-Business
Nigeria’s Innovation Flywheel: Turning Early AI Uptake into Economic Acceleration
By: Deen Yusuf, Managing Director, Microsoft Nigeria
Nigeria has never struggled with ingenuity. It is a place where innovation grows from necessity, and where developers, entrepreneurs, and problem solvers consistently push past limitations to build what does not yet exist.
Deen Yusuf, Managing Director, Microsoft Nigeria
But in the era of artificial intelligence, ingenuity alone is no longer enough. The nations that will lead are those that not only innovate, but also ensure AI reaches workers at every level of the economy, because innovation without diffusion is simply potential left on the shelf.
Yet research shows this diffusion is far from guaranteed. While global generative AI usage continues to rise, the adoption gap between the Global North and Global South is widening at almost twice the rate.
Even the United States, despite leading in frontier AI, has fallen behind smaller, highly digitized economies in workforce adoption.
It’s clear that access constraints, not a lack of creativity or ambition, pose the greatest threat to equitable AI progress. For Africa, and for Nigeria in particular, this risk cannot be ignored.
The barriers slowing Nigeria’s AI acceleration
Microsoft’s Global AI Adoption in 2025: A Widening Digital Divide report shows that though Nigeria’s appetite for innovation remains strong, the underlying systems required to translate that energy into mainstream adoption are underdeveloped. While startups, government institutions, researchers, and investors are actively exploring AI applications across multiple sectors, national adoption has risen only marginally, up just 0.6 percentage points, from 8.7 percent in the first half of 2025 to 9.3 percent in the second half of the year.
Access remains the most immediate constraint. Connectivity gaps, inconsistent speeds, and high data costs limit the everyday use of AI tools. With median mobile speeds of 46.78 Mbps and fixed broadband at 27.54 Mbps, Nigeria ranks below the global benchmarks needed for reliable, cloud-based AI services.
Skills shortages create a second barrier. While momentum is building, Nigeria still requires the specialized talent required to build, integrate, and manage advanced AI systems. Talent emigration further widens the gap.
Language and localization gaps compound the challenge. Most large language models leverage English-language training data, excluding many Nigerian languages and limiting the cultural relevance of AI tools in a country with rich linguistic diversity.
Finally, fragmented regulation slows progress. Overlapping mandates across agencies create uncertainty around governance, privacy, and security, fueling public hesitation and reinforcing fears around job displacement.
Learning from global AI leaders
The fastest-accelerating countries, including the UAE, Singapore, Norway, Ireland, France and Spain, share a clear blueprint: early investment in digital infrastructure, robust skilling ecosystems, and decisive government leadership.
The impact of this approach is evident in the UAE, where the AI Diffusion Report shows national adoption rising from 59.4 percent in the first half of 2025 to 64 percent in the latter half, a 4.6-percentage-point increase.
The Emirates’ AI advantage didn’t materialize overnight. It was built deliberately and with years of foresight. In October 2017, five full years before ChatGPT captured global attention, the UAE appointed the world’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. That same year, the country launched a national AI strategy covering nine priority sectors and establishing governance frameworks.
This sequencing proved consequential. When the current generative AI wave arrived, UAE residents encountered a familiar technology, one their government had been deploying in public services and discussing in national conversations for half a decade. The foundation was already in place.
Regulatory pragmatism has been a key driver of the UAE’s rise as a global AI leader. Early on, the country established sandbox environments that allowed controlled experimentation and learning. It then introduced targeted visa programs to attract and retain AI talent, ensuring the ecosystem could scale.
This was reinforced by principle-based guidelines that offered clear direction without stifling innovation or creating compliance paralysis.
Over time, this approach built trust in the most durable way possible: through proven outcomes and AI systems that deliver value in everyday transactions.
For Nigeria, a similar path begins with deliberate government action through initiatives such as 3MTT and Project Bridge.
These programs lay the groundwork for strengthening talent and infrastructure, expanding access and connectivity, and accelerating digitization across ministries, departments and agencies.
Professional bodies also have a critical role to play. Through training, workshops, and sector-specific guidance, they can demystify AI, correct misconceptions, and help workers understand its benefits.
Early adopters already show what is possible. Through its advanced analytics-driven marketing platform, Terragon Group is helping its clients achieve returns of up to 900 percent, while financial services group Access Holdings has significantly accelerated product development cycles using AI-driven tools.
Local language relevance is equally essential. South Korea’s surge in AI adoption, for example, rising from 25th to 18th in the global rankings, only accelerated once AI models became highly effective in Korean. Nigeria can follow this path by investing in indigenous language AI.
Initiatives such as Awarri and Paza, a recent collaboration with Microsoft Research, are starting to show how culturally rooted AI tools can expand access and inclusion.
Nigeria stands at a pivotal moment. The ingenuity is here; the ambition is here, and now the pathway is clear.
With focused investment in infrastructure, talent, localization, and forward-leaning governance, the country can move from early promise to broad-based AI participation, ensuring AI becomes a driver of inclusive growth and opportunity for every Nigerian.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has opposed a bill seeking to compel major global social media companies to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
The rights advocacy group urged the National Assembly to discard the proposed legislation, warning that it could become a tool for censorship and undermine citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression, despite being presented as a measure to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and improve corporate accountability.
The position was contained in a presentation submitted yesterday by Emmanuel Onwubiko, national coordinator, HURIWA, to the chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyber Security.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Munir Nwoko, has already passed second reading in the Senate and is before the committee for further legislative consideration.
HURIWA said it carefully reviewed the proposed legislation and concluded that compelling global technology companies to establish offices in Nigeria was unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
The organisation argued that while the firms generate substantial revenue from Nigeria’s vast digital market, they already engage Nigerians through existing structures, including paying eligible content creators, working with local technology professionals and participating in legal proceedings whenever required.
According to the group, appointing local representatives where necessary would adequately address concerns about engagement with regulators and users without forcing the companies to maintain physical offices.
It also dismissed claims that mandatory country offices would significantly improve consumer complaint resolution, technology transfer or employment generation.
HURIWA maintained that the platforms already have effective feedback mechanisms for resolving users’ complaints and routinely appear before Nigerian courts through their representatives whenever litigation arises.
The group, however, said its greatest concern was the potential for the proposed law to be used as an instrument for restricting freedom of expression.
It argued that establishing local offices could expose global social media companies to pressure from government authorities to remove online content considered critical of those in power.
According to the rights group, the presence of social media companies in Nigeria could become an avenue for authorities to pressure them into abandoning internationally recognised digital rights standards in favour of politically motivated content moderation.
It recalled previous attempts to regulate social media in Nigeria that generated widespread concerns over possible restrictions on free speech, stressing that any legislation affecting the digital space must contain clear safeguards against abuse.
The organisation warned that the proposed law should never become “a backdoor mechanism for government surveillance, arbitrary content removal or political censorship.
Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most regulated online gambling markets, even as illegal operators continue to dominate the continent, according to a new report by Gaming Compliance International (GCI).
The report, the first comprehensive assessment of online gambling across all 54 African countries, showed that Africa’s online gambling Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached $23 billion in 2025.
However, only $5.2 billion (23 per cent) was generated by licensed operators, while $17.8 billion (77 per cent) remained in the unregulated market.
In West Africa, total online gambling revenue rose to $4.8 billion in 2025 from $4.3 billion in 2024. Of the 2025 figure, regulated operators accounted for $1.5 billion (31 per cent), while $3.3 billion (69 per cent) flowed to unlicensed platforms, highlighting the region’s persistent enforcement challenges.
Nigeria stood out as the region’s strongest performer, recording the lowest unregulated market share at 56 per cent, compared with the West African average of 69 per cent and the African average of 77 per cent.
The study also found that online gambling participation across Africa increased from 198 million people (13 per cent of the population) in 2024 to 215 million (14 per cent) in 2025.
Despite this growth, GCI estimated that illegal operators deprived African governments of about $3.55 billion in tax revenue in 2025. The number of unlicensed gambling platforms targeting African consumers also rose to 4,129, up from 3,644 in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Matt Holt, chief executive officer, GCI, said the report provides regulators with the first continent-wide benchmark for strengthening oversight and consumer protection.
Ismail Vali, president, GCI, urged governments to develop competitive and well-regulated markets that encourage consumers to patronise licensed operators, boost public revenue and attract greater investment.
Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the Nation Lottery Regulatory Commission.
At the height of the Northern Hemisphere tourist season, demand for communications and mobile Internet services rises sharply. Kaspersky’s security experts have uncovered scams that target anyone purchasing mobile connections or SIM cards worldwide.
Fraudsters create counterfeit websites that look like the portals of major regional and international telecom providers to trick users into revealing their phone numbers, personal details or banking information.
Kaspersky is sharing several examples of these fake login pages that mimic legitimate telecom operator sites and giving recommendations on how not to be deceived.
In the first case, scammers exploit the brand name of an international telecommunications company operating services in Asia, Africa and Europe. Fake authentication pages encourage users to put in their phone number and credentials.
While the first example shows the different design, the second scam site closely mimics the original log in page, making it hard for users to tell the difference and spot a fake. Entering authentication or payment data on fraudulent web sites may result in money or data loss and become a reason for more frequent spam and fraudulent calls.
Another example is a scam page which poses as another international communications company, working in North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In this scheme scammers encourage users to top up their mobile data/Internet plans by entering their personal information and bank cards details.
Kaspersky experts have also identified a scam when cyber criminals suggest users enter their personal data to check and pay a bill inquiry. Such scam schemes are usually aimed at gaining victims’ personal data for further fraud or account hacking and stealing money.
“Because of the active use of AI, scammers can now create fake pages with ever increasing accuracy and speed, targeting the most popular user interest areas. We constantly see scams revolving around sports events, music concerts, seasonal sales and holidays. Unfortunately, the telecoms industry is no exception.
To keep your data and money safe, be vigilant when purchasing mobile or Internet plans online. Using an eSIM – purchased through an official app – is one way to avoid fake telecom sites, as it eliminates the need to enter personal details on questionable web pages.
If you’re unsure about a site’s legitimacy, search for the brand name directly in a search engine and enable a security solution that blocks phishing links for you,” comments Tatyana Kulikova, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
HURIWA, CLO Protests Bill Asking Social Media Firms’ to Open Shops Nigeria
Anambra Govt Bans Graduation Ceremonies in Anambra Schools
Airtel Secures Another 10-year Spectrum Renewal in Nigeria
Moniepoint as a Key Driver in Expanding Financial Access for Businesses in Nigeria
Nigeria, Israel Strengthen Research, Technology Collaboration
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
E-Financial3 days agoFG Says Rumours, Fear, Can Crash Banks
Telecom3 days agoCourt Dismisses Pan African Towers’ Bid to Halt Ex-CEO’s Suit, Awards ₦500,000 Costs
E-Business3 days agoKaspersky Warns of a Phishing Campaign Abusing Microsoft Authentication Mechanism
News3 days agoIMF Sees 4% AI Growth Boost for Africa
Telecom3 days agoTelcos Seek Clear Regulatory Framework on Airtime Credit Services
Telecom3 days agoMTN Nigeria Announces 2026 mPulse Spelling Bee, Opens Entries for Students Nationwide
Telecom3 days agoMTN Warns Customers against Fake Promo
E-Financial3 days agoEU Debunks Fake Compensation Scheme Targeting West African Bank Customers