E-Business
E-commerce Adoption in Northern Nigeria
E-commerce platforms like Jumia and fintech companies have brought a new dynamic to everyday living in Northern Nigeria. Individuals, households, small enterprises, and huge corporations are increasingly turning to the internet for a variety of transactions.
More importantly, Jumia and other partners’ dedication to open the digital space in the northern states has resulted in increased awareness and knowledge of the enormous capabilities and benefits of e-commerce. E-commerce platforms, in particular, have accelerated digitisation in the north by eliminating barriers to entry such as skepticism, lack of confidence, and concerns about data security breaches, among others.
Nano Strix, a 3PL logistics company, based in Abuja and several FMCG companies are among small and large corporations leveraging e-commerce to create and increase opportunities in the northern part of Nigeria and elsewhere.
Through its partnership with Jumia launched in 2015, the company provides third-party logistics services and is the first logistics hub for Jumia in Northern Nigeria.
According to Nano Strix CEO Mohammed Maikudi, as the pioneer e-Commerce platform in Northern Nigeria, the company has been able to push over from the initial low user adoption occasioned by people’s lack of trust and fear of the safety of putting their debit cards online.
“Over time, Jumia has built a name for itself where we now see a more positive trajectory in the industry. People are now more trusting of the services Jumia offers, putting their credit cards or debit cards online ordering items without the fear of being stuck with something they don’t like or expect,” he said.
Maikudi further enthused, “Our package volumes have started to increase over time, allowing us to employ more staff, provide more benefits to our staff and bring them into the fold. For example, our volume has increased to a point where we allow staff to bring into our 3PL fleet, so everyone benefits.”
Furthermore, Jumia’s partnership with Unilever for last-mile logistics is accelerating e-commerce adoption in Northern Nigeria. The strategic partnership enables Unilever to improve turnaround time for consumers in Northern Nigeria’s vast geographic area, allowing them to obtain items more quickly.
The consumer goods company benefits from Jumia’s extensive logistics network by optimizing network scale, delivery speed, and seamless customer experience. Commenting on the partnership, Unilever Nigeria Logistics Manager, Supply Chain Operations, Jeremiah Aloko, said the strategic partnership with Jumia Nigeria has significantly impacted top tier services in Northern Nigeria.
“During the presentation of Unilever Nigeria’s Best Logistics Partner award to Jumia, he said, “We are impressed with Jumia’s high quality of work in the context of an extremely challenging logistics environment in Africa.”
As e-commerce grows in popularity in Nigerian cities, Jumia and others are fostering many small businesses and logistics companies to satisfy the increasing demands of sellers and buyers.
“In some Northern Nigerian cities like Kaduna, Kano, and Plateau, it is now common to see delivery vans and bikes delivering items to customers.
A Jumia partner and CEO of Brand Shop Prints, an Abuja-based ICT firm, Fortune Arinze, applauded the impact of Jumia pick-up station on business growth.
He acknowledged that the partnership has helped maintain cash inflow during printing business downtime and supported business expansion through ownership of bikes that deliver food on the Jumia platform.
“As an entrepreneur, the major aim is to make more revenue, and that’s what having a pick-up station in our office space does for me. The advantage we get from this pick-up station is constant turnover, which is what every business needs because, with our kind of business, it’s not every day that we receive new jobs or contracts from clients, but the Jumia pick-up station is a steady source of income.
“People pick up items every day, and we also deliver food every day. Jumia pays for each item picked up from the station,” he said.
The disruption caused by COVID-19 emphasizes the importance of e-commerce adoption in the north.
Logistics gaps like transportation and warehousing, as well as the lack of physical stalls to sell during the lockdowns, would have spelt doom for small scale farmers if not for e-commerce platforms. While the lockdown was in effect, their produce, particularly groceries and other perishables, would not have made it to the public.
Nigeria needs some 480,000 data protection officers (DPOs), to develop, implement, and oversee organizations’ data privacy strategy to ensure compliance with laws like the GDPR and the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
Currently only about 10,000 individuals possess the necessary certification highlighting a major skills gap, according Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Olatunji spoke on Monday at the second edition of its Data Protection Officers training and certification programme in Abuja and Lagos.
He said that the NDPC has domesticated the certification of data protection officers (DPOs) to address the widening gap in certified DPOs, despite steady growth in the number of trained professionals over the past three years.
“At the moment, we have about 10,000 certified DPOs to work in that space. The gap of about 480,000 still exists,” he said.
The shortfall reflects rising demand for data privacy skills as more businesses, government agencies and digital platforms process personal data under the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
Olatunji said the number of certified DPOs has grown from fewer than 1,000 three years ago to over 10,000, while more than 27,000 professionals now operate within Nigeria’s wider data protection ecosystem.
He said the commission is scaling up training and certification efforts to close the gap and position Nigeria as a leading source of data protection talent in Africa.
“Our goal is to make Nigeria the go-to country when it comes to sourcing qualified data protection officers in Africa,” he said, adding that the certification meets global standards.
The NDPC said expanding the talent pool could also support job creation and strengthen trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Tolu Fadipe, head of research and development at the commission, said data protection is becoming critical as the country moves deeper into digital systems and emerging technologies.
“As we move towards a digital economy, data becomes central and protecting that data is essential,” she said.
Adeola Sopade, lead trainer, said participants in the programme would be trained on global best practices, including data protection principles, compliance requirements and handling user data requests.
The training also includes practical exposure and internships with organisations to improve job readiness.
Participants said the programme offers opportunities for young Nigerians to build careers in technology and prepare for emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.
Federal government has inaugurated the Electronic Pharmacy Regulation Platform (E-Pharmacy) to enhance the safety of online healthcare services.
Pic credit….healthreporters.info
The platform, championed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), is designed to regulate digital pharmaceutical services and improve public health outcomes.
Inaugurating the platform, Prof. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, said the initiative signified Nigeria’s commitment to building a world-class regulatory environment.
Pate noted that pharmacy regulation had faced significant challenges for over three decades but expressed optimism that the new platform would strengthen oversight and accountability.
He said the initiative would enable evidence-based monitoring of pharmaceutical practices while supporting innovation and investment in the health sector.
“This launch is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing technology in the service of health, safety and human dignity.
“It is a decisive step to ensure that pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria aligns with national and global health priorities, reflecting the realities of the 21st century.
“It enables the country to adopt evidence-based approaches to monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” he said.
The minister added that the platform would help establish a safe, accessible and well-regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem driven by digital technology.
Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed, registrar/chief executive officer of PCN, said the need to regulate online pharmacy operations became more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital tools and e-commerce in healthcare, exposing longstanding inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.
“This has led to the increasing adoption of digitised distribution of essential medicines through cost-effective and technology-enabled models.
“For decades, PCN has regulated pharmacy education, training, practice and business in Nigeria. However, as the world shifts towards digital solutions, access to medicines has evolved.
“The Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 provide a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.
He added that the framework would ensure that ethical standards and patient safety are not compromised in the delivery of online pharmaceutical services.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO, Flutterwave, has announced plans to establish Anambra State as the company’s hub for Nigeria’s South East, leveraging a fresh banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost local fintech and businesses.
Flutterwave
Agboola made the disclosure yesterday in Awka during a meeting with Anambra tech community leaders, hosted alongside Dr. Stanley Uzochukwu, CEO, Stanel Group and proprietor, Delborough Hotel.
He highlighted Flutterwave’s status as Africa’s leading payment system, born in Nigeria, with infrastructure powering companies nationwide.
“We want Anambra to be our hub for the entire South East,” Agboola said. “We’ll deploy our systems, fees, infrastructure, and POS terminals to every small business and large firm here, making our services the top consumer choice.”
Agboola pledged a massive impact program for Anambra entrepreneurs to foster global platforms from the state, enabled by the new license for faster growth.
For a decade, Flutterwave has facilitated payments, but now aims to empower South East businesses through partnerships, POS access, loans, and value for SMEs.
“We’re partnering on a huge impact program launching soon—impacting the tech community with technology, financing, and lending to create more millionaires from this city,” he added.
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