General News
Courier Operators Shift Gear, Key into Commerce Delivery
Private Courier operators, were seemingly, taken by surprise when the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and Konga.com, Nigeria’s largest online marketplace, announced a partnership for the use of NIPOST post offices as pick up locations for Konga orders.
The UNILAG collection centre is the first in a series of collaborations by the two parties to address logistics and delivery issues experienced by eCommerce operators in Nigeria.
This, Dr, Simon Emeje, senior postmaster general of the Federation and head of the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD), told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, informed their decision to organize series of workshop and networking platforms for both parties to have a handshake, share ideas on e-commerce delivery through the indigenous courier firms.
Emeje said that although Africa’s logistics market opportunity is big and compelling with a potential of $300 annual return, CRD foresees a period most of the courier operators in Nigeria will leverage e-commerce delivery to better their worth.
According to him, the e-commerce logistics include warehousing, order processing and other services before actual delivery, but the unique challenges include infrastructure, talents, internet penetration, payments, and with peculiar to Nigeria, the need for improved regulations.
Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek in his office on the matter, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo, president of the Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) said that over the years, the industry players have been monitoring trends in both the capital market and e-commerce in Nigeria, and now view the latter as better option in the prevailing circumstances.
Although, Oladapo rule out complete exit of courier operators from the capital market, but he believes that e-commerce is favourably disposed to the members who are looking out for more innovative ways to restore the sub-sector’s lost glory.
There are close to 300 courier operators in Nigeria, majority of them are bent on delivering capital market dispatches like dividend- warrants, annual reports, among others.
However, the ANCO President said, “Of recent, we have been having a lot of seminars organized by ANCO and also the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of NIPOST, then, our members are beginning to see the business sense in e-commerce delivery”.
Asked how he received the news of the NIPOST/Konga.com partnership, he said, “Well, it is part of the challenge we still face in on environment where a player also regulates. In actually sense, what NIPOST ought to link Konga to private operators who are decentralized, structured and professionals too.
“It is unlike we are not ready to play major role in the e-commerce delivery, for instance, another e-commerce platform (name undisclosed), approached ANCO and we agreed on our members carrying out their deliveries. If NIPOST, a government agency could take up the large chuck of the market, how can government claim to have the heart to cater for the common interest of the private operators?
“On our part at ANCO, we have been extending our tentacles to other institutions in search of ways to prevent dearth of courier operators in Nigeria”.
E-commerce is one area to look for continued growth and real opportunity in Nigeria.
In 2014 Nigeria recorded over $2 million worth of online transactions per week and close to $1.3 billion monthly.
Nigeria’s e-commerce market is developing rapidly, with an estimated growth rate of 25 percent annually, which spurred CRD to orgnaise seminars in 2014, creating avenues for courier operators to meet e-ecommerce platforms.
Nigerians are notorious for their love of shopping too; for instance, the Euromonitor Nigeria in a 2011 report revealed that Nigerians spend $6.3 billion per year on clothing.
In a recent survey conducted by Philip Consulting 38% of Nigerians prefer to buy products through the internet.
Also, Middle class consumers are the biggest purchasers online.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg, New York based financial newswire service report shows that Nigeria has been ranked among 20 fastest growing economies in the World.
Confirming the report, Kaymu.com.ng, leading online shopping community, attributed the nation’s listing to the upshot of e-commerce.
In an accompanying chart by Bloomberg, Nigeria with an expected growth rate of 4.9% was ranked sixth behind China (7%), the Philippines (6.3%), Kenya (6%), India (5.5%) and Indonesia (5.4%).
Evangeline Wiles, managing director of Kaymu.com, said, “Nigeria’s e-commerce space is the fastest growing in Africa contributing a monthly spends of 1.3bn to the Nigerian retail sector. The role the retail sector plays in driving Nigeria’s economy cannot be overemphasized as a country’s purchasing power is a major driver of the economy”.
Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo has commended the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) for expanding access to technology-driven skills with the inauguration of a Skills Acquisition Centre in Owerri.
L-R: Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi; First Lady of Imo State, Barr. Chioma Uzodimma; Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma; EVC/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu and other dignitaries during the commissioning of the NASENI Skills Acquisition Centre in Owerri North LGA, Imo State yesterday.
The governor described the initiative as a strategic investment in youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and economic development.
The centre, established under the NASENI Sustainable Empowerment Programme (NSEP) in partnership with the Senator representing Imo East Senatorial District, Sen. Ezenwa Onyewuchi, is designed to equip young Nigerians with practical and industry-relevant skills.
Speaking at the inauguration, Uzodimma said technology remained central to Nigeria’s economic growth and lauded NASENI for supporting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through initiatives that empower citizens.
He said the project would provide young people with practical skills needed to build sustainable livelihoods.
“This is not about giving people fish; it is about teaching them how to fish,” the governor said.
Uzodimma urged that beneficiaries of the programme be supported with start-up capital to enable them establish businesses and create employment opportunities for others.
He also commended NASENI for its continued developmental interventions in Imo and called on the host community and relevant stakeholders to protect the facility.
Responding, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr Khalil Suleiman Halilu, described the centre as another demonstration of the agency’s commitment to developing the human capital required to drive Nigeria’s industrialisation.
According to Halilu, the centre reflects NASENI’s conviction that industrial development begins with investing in people and equipping them with practical skills.
“The commissioning of this centre is not merely the opening of another facility. It is the opening of opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire practical skills that solve real problems, create businesses and generate employment.
“At NASENI, we believe our greatest investment is in the talent of our people,” he said.
Halilu said the centre would offer training in high-demand areas, including solar installation and maintenance, graphic design and printing, phone repair, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as other vocational and technology-based disciplines.
He explained that the project aligned with NASENI’s strategic focus on creation, collaboration and commercialisation, aimed at strengthening innovation, expanding local capacity and reducing dependence on imported technologies.
The NASENI boss commended Onyewuchi for partnering with the agency to deliver the project.
Onyewuchi said the centre was established to address youth unemployment through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
He disclosed that beneficiaries would receive support to establish small businesses after completing their training, enabling them to become employers of labour.
The lawmaker said the initiative would contribute to economic growth by empowering young Nigerians with skills relevant to today’s economy.
The commissioning of the centre, according to NASENI, reinforces the agency’s commitment to equipping Nigerians with practical skills, fostering innovation and building the workforce required for Nigeria’s industrial and economic development.
Federal government has launched Credit for Laptops, Internet, Connectivity and Knowledge Digital Devices (C.L.I.C.K.D.), a new consumer credit initiative, to provide affordable financing for locally assembled laptops and other digital devices.
L-R: Mr Uzoma Nwagba, managing director and chief executive officer, CREDICORP, and Dr Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, at the launch
The initiative by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, is aimed at equipping Nigerians with the tools needed to participate in the country’s growing digital economy.
During the launch, Dr Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, described access to credit as critical to improving productivity and driving economic growth.
Dr Tijani said no nation could achieve sustainable development without a strong credit system that enables individuals and businesses to access resources needed to become more productive.
He noted that in today’s digital age, technology has become indispensable for education, innovation and wealth creation.
The minister explained that many talented young Nigerians possess the skills required to succeed in the digital economy but remain constrained by their inability to own computers and other digital tools.
Drawing from his personal experience, Dr Tijani recalled how his first laptop as a student in the university opened doors to international opportunities and eventually inspired him to establish one of Nigeria’s pioneering technology hubs.
He said the new programme would ensure that more young Nigerians are not denied similar opportunities because of financial barriers.
According to him, the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by expanding access to technology, boosting productivity and supporting local manufacturing.
Mr Uzoma Nwagba, managing director and chief executive officer, CREDICORP, described the programme as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future workforce and digital transformation.
Mr Nwagba said that while improvements in internet connectivity and digital skills training have positioned Nigeria for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, access to devices remains a major challenge preventing many young people from fully participating in the digital economy.
He explained that C.L.I.C.K.D. would bridge that gap by providing affordable consumer credit that enables beneficiaries to acquire laptops and other internet-enabled devices while they develop in-demand digital skills
Federal Government has announced the disbursement of about N333 billion to eight electricity generation companies (GenCos) as part of measures to resolve outstanding debts in the power sector.
The government also disclosed the issuance of a second bond valued at N729 billion to settle verified legacy obligations and improve liquidity within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The disclosures were made on Tuesday at an investors’ forum organised by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc in Abuja.
Government representatives said the latest bond issuance marked the completion of the initial phase of the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme, which was designed to address verified liabilities and attract private sector investment across the electricity value chain.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs Olu Verheijen, said the implementation of the first series of the programme demonstrated the administration’s commitment to meeting its financial obligations and improving investor confidence.
Verheijen disclosed that the Federal Government in February 2026 allocated about N501 billion under the first tranche of the programme, comprising N300 billion in cash and N201 billion in non-cash bond instruments to offset verified debts owed to power producers.
She said N333 billion had so far been disbursed to eight participating GenCos operating 17 power plants.
According to her, the government also paid the first coupon of about N63.5 billion on the seven-year bond in full on July 14, 2026.
She explained that the payments had enabled generation companies to meet critical obligations to gas suppliers, lenders and operations and maintenance contractors, thereby improving their operational capacity.
“Markets do not reward promises; they reward performance. Capital follows credibility,” Verheijen said.
She added that the second bond series would further strengthen liquidity in the electricity market and create a more stable financial environment capable of attracting long-term private investment.
The Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme is part of broader Federal Government efforts to address challenges affecting electricity generation, distribution and investment in Nigeria’s power sector.
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