E-Business
Jeff Bezos Trillionaire Tale and Nigeria eCommerce
By Aliyu Yakubu
America’s Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce giant, Amazon, is becoming a trillionaire in the midst of COVID-19 global pandemic. This is both good and bad news. Good news because it is the reward of foresight and tenacity.
Bad news because in the midst of the same pandemic, his e-commerce counterparts in Nigeria are counting losses. The difference is not in the business dexterity of Bezos nor in the poor marketing skills of the Nigerian counterparts. The difference, unfortunately, is how the two governments reacted to the pandemic and its attendant lockdown.
While the US government gave a clear signal to e-commerce companies in America to move freely during lockdown to make delivery in anticipation of a surge in online shopping, the Nigerian government did the opposite. It locked down e-commerce activities by not clearly classifying e-commerce companies and their workers under ‘essential services’.
This is the difference between a 21st century policy-smart government and a policy-dumb government. The US government anticipated a spike in online sales during the lockdown and gave free access to Amazon and other e-commerce workers. The Nigerian government was too happy to lock down e-commerce firms alongside other businesses.
Now, for the smartness of the US government, Bezos is walking his way to trillions. Imagine the tax that would add to US government purse. Imagine the number of jobs it will save when other companies around the world have either furloughed their staff or have sacked them outright.
This is a case of the absence of critical and strategic thinking in the Nigeria public ecosystem. Our leaders are not intentionally progressive. You cannot lock down a critical driver of the economy at a time you have decreed no-movement for the populace. It is also a function of low appreciation and lack of understanding of what e-commerce really means and how it works.
In the wake of the lockdown, somebody ought to have anticipated that Nigerians would resort to making online purchases, hence the overriding need to categorise e-commerce workers as persons on essential duty. The nature of e-commerce is that it’s unobtrusive, does not draw physical crowd yet it effectively services clients from its backend through the delivery channels. In this way, issues of non-compliance with social distancing and other precautionary protocols do not arise.
The paradox of the Nigerian e-commerce story during the pandemic is that they were lumped with other regular businesses and clamped with the same lockdown measure. They are not. Their staff were treated as non-essential duty persons. It took some explanation for them to be allowed to do their businesses during the lockdown. In some states, it was practically impossible as e-commerce delivery workers were either harassed or turned back from performing their duties.
For instance, some delivery staff of Konga, Africa’s fastest growing and most innovative e-commerce company, were either harassed or turned back from making deliveries. Delivery men were harassed while moving items inter-state. There were also reported cases of harassment within some metropolis. Lagos was no exception.
In Rivers State, not a single Experience Store was opened during the lockdown. Strict enforcement by the state government meant no e-commerce delivery man was allowed movement even within the metropolis.
You cannot build economies when you shut down all channels of trade. In the western world and Asia, persons on lockdown turned to online purchases to restock. Their governments clearly exempted e-commerce outfits from the list of companies that must remain shut for as long as the lockdown lasted. The net result is beginning to show in the balance sheet of Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.
Comparisun, a company which allows small- to medium-sized firms to compare different business products, projects that Bezos will by 2026 emerge as the world’s first ever trillionaire, an honour he won’t be sharing with nobody, not even with Bill Gates of Microsoft whose fortunes keep growing with the birth of more technologies.
Their projection shows Bezos reaching trillionaire status by 2026. The company said their projection is based on taking the average percentage of yearly growth over the past five years and applying it to future years. Comparisun shows Bezos’ net worth grew an average of 34% over the last five years.
As of Thursday May 14, Bezos’ net worth was estimated at $143 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which tracks the worth of the world’s richest people daily. Compared to last year, Bezos’ worth has surged by more than $28 billion. He profited heavily from the coronavirus pandemic. Shoppers denied access to physical stores turned to online stores to make purchases from groceries to gaming machines, toys for the kids and big toys for the parents. The lockdown was the appropriate time to change household electronics for most parents, just anything to fight the boredom.
In Nigeria, there were cases of security men delaying delivery for days by ‘impounding’ vehicles and keeping them for as long as they wished. Delayed delivery makes nonsense of e-commerce. One of the unique selling points of online shopping is prompt delivery of goods. Once purchased goods are delayed, the suspense dies and so does the utility of the goods. Unfortunately, this was what Nigeria’s e-commerce companies suffered during the lockdown. At a time they were supposed to win more patronage and disciples into the e-commerce family, they got stuck in resolving issues of violation of lockdown rules while their counterparts in Europe and America simply worried about their balance sheet.
Now, the difference is clear. Bezos and others are smiling to the bank; their Nigerian counterparts are counting losses. Lesson: When next you lock down a state or city, make sure that e-commerce workers are exempted.
However, beyond Nigeria e-commerce fraternity, Jeff Bezos himself must learn the lessons of his capitalist expansionism. When the news of his impending trillionaire status broke, Twitter went agog. Elizabeth Warren, business woman and Democratic presidential candidate tweeted: “While Bezos is on the track to become a trillionaire in the middle of a pandemic, Amazon is ending overtime pay for warehouse and delivery workers on the frontline. This is immoral.”
While I congratulate Bezos for his feat, I should also remind the Nigerian government that e-commerce deserves a better deal next time.
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.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), in collaboration with the Africa Carbon Management Technology & Innovation (ACMTI) and the Clean Energy Ministerial Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Initiative (CEM-CCUS), has launched a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Initiative Platform in Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Innocent Barikor, the Director-General of NESREA, described the project as a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and industrial transformation.
Barikor explained that the CCUS solution provides an economically viable pathway for industrial decarbonisation by enabling the capture, storage, and utilisation of carbon in sectors such as beverage production, cement manufacturing, chemicals and fuels, enhanced oil recovery, and agriculture.
“We need to reduce carbon in the atmosphere to acceptable levels. Its utilisation offers opportunities to capture and store carbon and deploy it for industrial purposes. We are building a circular economy—turning environmental challenges into economic opportunities in line with regulatory provisions,” he said.
He noted that the CCUS Platform is a collaborative ecosystem designed to bring together key stakeholders, including government institutions, industry leaders, academia, technology developers, development partners, and investors.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NESREA for the initiative, describing it as a practical mechanism for coordination, innovation, and action toward Nigeria’s 2035 climate targets and broader energy transition goals.
He added that the university is well-positioned to host the CCUS initiative, noting that its Energy Technology Institute has developed credible expertise in energy transition-related fields critical to the success of CCUS in Nigeria.
On his part, the Coordinator of ACMTI and Facilitator of the Carbon Technology Innovation Platform (CTIP), Dr. Richard Victor Osu, said the vision is to position Nigeria as a regional leader in carbon management technologies while contributing meaningfully to Africa’s climate commitments and global decarbonisation efforts.
Osu explained that Port Harcourt was selected due to its potential as a CCUS hub, adding that the platform will focus on advancing research and innovation, building technical capacity, promoting public-private partnerships, attracting investment, and fostering collaboration with international research and technology partners.
Juho Lipponen of the CEM-CCUS Initiative assured that the organisation would support Nigeria in prioritising CCUS in clean energy discussions, strengthening carbon management deployment programmes, boosting partnerships, facilitating financing solutions, and promoting positive narratives around carbon utilisation.
The event attracted participants from the United States, France, Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, who shared insights on the initiative.
Also in attendance were representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, as well as private sector stakeholders and development partners.
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