E-Business
eCommerce to The Rescue for 23m Unemployed Nigerians
Dr. Hassan Kuja, an economist, writes from Taraba
Nigeria is currently mired in the throes of a worsening unemployment tide.
As you read this, the situation is so bad that out of every three Nigerians you encounter, one of them is unemployed. Numbers wise, Nigeria’s unemployment profile currently stands at about 33.3%.
The data above is backed up the latest statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The report released on Monday, March 15, 2021 Monday, March 15, makes for grim reading. It showed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose from 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020.
In layman terms, the foregoing translates to about 23.19 million unemployed people and this does not take into account millions of underemployed Nigerians.
Part of the NBS report reads as follows: “During the reference period, the computed national unemployment rate rose from 27.1 per cent in Q2, 2020 to 33.3 per cent in Q4, 2020, while the underemployment rate decreased from 28.6 per cent to 22.8 per cent. A combination of both the unemployment and underemployment rate for the reference period gave a figure of 56.1 per cent.
“This means that 33.3 per cent of the labour force in Nigeria or 23,187,389 persons either did nothing or worked for less than 20 hours a week; making them unemployed by our definition in Nigeria. This is an additional 1,422,772 persons from the number in that category in Q2, 2020. Using the international definition of unemployment, the rate was computed to be 17.5 per cent.”
But this is not the full picture of the worrisome unemployment trend in Nigeria.
Nigeria now boasts the unenviable status of being the country with the second highest unemployment rate in the world, second only to fellow African country, Namibia, which has the world’s highest unemployment statistic with 33.4 per cent. In achieving this unwanted feat, Nigeria recently surpassed South Africa on a list of 82 countries whose unemployment rates are tracked by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the situation seems to be headed for an even more worrisome trajectory, with the nation’s fast growing population expected to see Nigeria become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, with over 300 million people. This is according to projections by the United Nations. Also, economists and other experts expect Nigeria’s unemployment profile to soon overtake that of Namibia and become the world’s highest. The prediction is premised on the fact that more people are expected to join the labour market as population growth continues to outpace output expansion in Nigeria and as more graduates join the list of those eligible to work.
In the middle of this doom and gloom, many analysts and other commentators have posited that government alone cannot solve the unemployment conundrum, despite its status as the biggest employer of labour. Indeed, the overwhelming position is that 21st Century economies are built on the spirit of private enterprise, with government expected to support and provide the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, and in so doing unleash the power of entrepreneurship in creating more employment opportunities for the teeming youth population.
The foregoing calls to mind the yet-untapped potentialities of the e-Commerce sector in reversing Nigeria’s disastrous unemployment profile and specifically, the laudable efforts of a company like Konga, a world class Nigerian-owned player which has defied a myriad of hurdles and challenges that come with operating in a difficult terrain like Nigeria. I visualize a company like konga to be possibly the largest employer of quality human capital in Nigeria with the next five years and may be the highest single tax payer if given a chance to survive by government during this incubation period. Things have changed globally and our government and policy makers must pay attention and support companies like konga that shall alter the destiny of Nigerians in the very near future. It is clear the current owners have shown in a short period that they are not infants and have the required passion and capacity in the market place. Let me use Konga to explain the new economy:
In Konga, Nigeria has a gem that has provided a lifeline for many families and still continues to create a host of employment opportunities, despite building up its own infrastructure and with little or no institutional support. Having taken a critical look at the Nigerian e-Commerce sector in the course of my academic thesis, I remain convinced that if Nigeria had at least three other entities as dedicated to the empowerment of the Nigerian youth as Konga, we would be telling a different story in terms of our current unemployment nightmare for our brilliant youth population.
Konga runs a fusion of online and offline retail which has delivered so much value to Nigerians, employment-wise.
The management of the company, which came under new ownership in 2018, has hardly hidden its desire to saturate every nook and cranny of Nigeria with its presence, by citing at least one Konga store in each local government in the country.
Going by the current number of local governments in Nigeria, we are looking at a whopping 774 physical stores – a very ambitious project by any stretch of the imagination.
Already, Konga is on its way to achieving this feat which would make it arguably the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria. Even with the number of stores powered by technology it has at the moment across various states in Nigeria which currently stands at less than 50, Konga is creating direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands of Nigerians. These stores are manned by Nigerians through and through – with Konga also particularly embracing the policy of employing indigenous members of the community/states in each of its store locations.
To its credit, the company also runs its own internally-owned logistics company through which many have secured gainful employment, with a huge number of staff and other essential delivery personnel regularly being employed to manage Konga’sgrowing fleet of trucks, buses, cars and motorcycles. This is not to mention other existing subsidiaries within the Konga group including its CBN-licensed mobile money platform, KongaPay and online travel agency, Konga Travel which has created massive opportunities for many.
In July 2020, the media was awash with news that Konga had relaunched YUBOSS, its reseller scheme under the new name – Konga Affiliate. Through this scheme, Konga extended an offer of creative employment to millions of smart unemployed and under-employed Nigerians, by giving them an opportunity to earn unlimited income by partnering with the company. The initiative further offers successful affiliates, some of whom reside in unreached and under-served parts of the country, a chance to rise through the ranks and become part owner of a Konga franchise store.
There is no doubt that very few organizations in Nigeria can provide such opportunities for correcting the worrisome unemployment statistics staring us in the face.
Also, in Konga, Nigeria boasts a world-class platform that has continued to incubate and nurture the country’s growing army of tech developers, creative artists and other digital natives. With an in-house tech structure that can rival that of any blue-chip company in the world, Konga provides a fitting ground where many of Nigeria’s talented but restive youths find expression in exhibiting their digital skills and influencing the growth of the fintech and other allied sectors with their apps and other inventions. Till date, Konga has nurtured thousands of digital netizens in its never-stopping conveyor line, with many of them eventually taking their skills to other foreign countries – Germany, Canada, Russia, among many others, all of whom have come to rely on and feed off Konga’s supply line of digital talents.
Why has the Federal Government of Nigeria, or the Chief Executives of various state governments, not for once considered partnering with Konga even for the selfish interest of empowering citizens of their own states, you may ask?
Despite being an economist, I take an avid interest in e-Commerce, which remains, in my opinion, a futuristic sector that has the capacity to bring Nigeria shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of the advanced world. However, a deep understanding of the immense economic power of e-Commerce, lacking as it is, on the part of political office holders in Nigeria, is one of the major leadership deficits we endure here.
This is one of the reasons why leaders in Nigeria have consistently failed to leverage the immense employment-generating potential of an e-Commerce engine such as Konga.
But it is time to wake up and smell the coffee!
As highlighted earlier, government alone cannot solve Nigeria’s unemployment challenge. This is where tested and trusted, tech-driven, ethical platforms such as Konga comes in or other Nigerian-focused companies, especially those that can do more with a little institutional support.
In the United States and other advanced economies, governments have taken advantage of the sheer power of e-Commerce in empowering its citizens. To bring this reality into stark relief, let’s compare some figures from a global e-Commerce standpoint.
Amazon, headquartered in the United States remains the world’s biggest e-Commerce platform. Its founder, Jeff Bezos has occupied and still jostles for the position of the world’s richest man. He is presently in second position after Tesla’s Elon Musk. The stock of Amazon has more than quintupled over the last five years, catapulting Bezos from a mere multibillionaire to the world’s first centi-billionaire and, later, the first person worth more than $200 billion. This is in spite of the fact that Bezos lost a significant portion of his net worth after his divorce in 2019, which left his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott with around 25% of their Amazon holdings. Amazon enjoys tax breaks from the United States government.
During the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon reportedly employed over 100,000 Americans as it positioned itself as an ‘essential’ service during the pandemic, serving the needs of needy Americans who required essential supplies such as food, groceries, meds and other gadgets delivered to them in the safety of their homes.
Asian giant, Alibaba had 117,600 employees as at March 2020 but it has also seen its staff strength rise significantly, especially during the lockdown. Even in the face of a recent fallout between its founder, Jack Ma and the Chinese government, Alibaba still enjoys the confidence of the government and the Chinese people.
In the case of Konga, my enquiries from the company’s executive management revealed that the lockdown posed a tough period for its business with a well-publicised series of restrictions from the government. Through it all, the management insisted none of its staff would be sacked and even embarked on a nationwide campaign to feed thousands of families using its staff for two weeks as its own form of palliatives.
Nigeria’s unemployment outlook is dire but a lot can be done, if only we can leverage the power of e-Commerce and an established, world-class structure such as Konga.
As Dr. B.B Usman stated: ‘‘This is why regional e-Commerce economic platform blocs like Alibaba, Konga, and others are emerging to demonstrate that the analogue economic model is dead, especially in the face of digital transformation. Digital economy is here and Africa must empower her e-Commerce entrepreneurs; not only with litmus packages, but by granting them 10-year tax holiday to fast track the creation of youth employment; while boosting regional wealth.’’
Now is the time to act and reverse the future of millions of hopeless Nigerian youths!
E-Business
82% of Organizations Concerned about AI Risks Even as Adoption Accelerates – Survey Reveals
At its recent Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region Kaspersky shared the results of a global study conducted by its internal research center which surveyed 1,800 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers and specialists from organisations across 18 countries and multiple industries.
The report shows that the pace of AI integration across organisations is rapid, despite associated risks. The company’s experts stressed that while AI adoption delivers clear efficiency gains, it must be accompanied by robust cybersecurity solutions, well-defined internal procedures, and comprehensive employee education programmes.
The report highlights a clear organisational preference for AI-enhanced technology: 68% of respondents said they would recommend a solution with AI features built in, while a mere 5% indicated they would prefer to avoid AI-enabled tools. This overwhelming endorsement underscores how deeply AI has embedded itself as a value driver across the modern enterprise.
AI has become a mainstream productivity tool spanning many business functions. The global survey findings confirm that employees across departments are already relying on AI tools for a wide range of everyday tasks, including: data analysis & visualisation (54%), project management (49%), search for information (47%), department-specific tasks (46%), text generation and editing (41%).
While organisations recognise the tangible benefits AI tools bring – including improved process efficiency and enhanced quality of deliverables – they also see the associated dangers. 82% of respondents voiced concerns about the risks AI poses to their organisation. These concerns are grounded in real-world experience.
Among the 87% of organisations worldwide that faced a cyber incident in the past year, 13% reported that they had experienced threats stemming specifically from AI-related vulnerabilities.
Notably, 74% of respondents believe that these risks can be effectively mitigated through employees’ responsible behaviour — pointing to the critical importance of security awareness and training in the AI era.
“The speed at which organisations are embracing AI is remarkable, but it must be matched with an equally strong commitment to security. We are already seeing a growing range of threats directly tied to AI adoption – whether it’s malware camouflaged as popular AI tools, vulnerabilities introduced through unsecure vibecoding, or leaked access credentials to corporate AI platforms and malicious skills by AI agents.
Managing these risks requires a holistic approach: the right technology, well-defined procedures, and a security-aware workforce,” comments Brandon Muller, senior security consultant for the META region at Kaspersky.
E-Business
How Temu Helped a Madagascan Vanilla Family Business Sell Direct to Consumers Across Europe
Malagasy Vanilla has transformed its decades-old wholesale business by embracing direct-to-consumer sales through Temu, enabling the family-run company to reach customers in 14 European markets while significantly reducing logistics costs.
For years, premium Madagascan vanilla supplier Malagasy Vanilla sold exclusively to restaurants, bakeries and wholesalers because the cost of shipping a single pack to individual customers often equalled the value of the product itself. That changed after the company joined Temu’s Local Seller Program in November 2025.
The Belgian-based business, which sources high-quality vanilla from Madagascar, has leveraged Temu’s logistics network to cut domestic shipping costs by nearly half through a partnership with Belgian postal operator Bnode. The move has enabled the company to enter the retail market for the first time and quadruple its sales within four months.
According to Belinda Rabenandrasana, co-Chief Executive Officer of Malagasy Vanilla, Temu has opened up an entirely new customer segment for the company.
“Temu opened a new avenue for us,” she said. “We were finally able to explore selling to individuals.”
The platform now contributes between five and 10 per cent of the company’s overall revenue.
Expansion into 14 European Markets
Malagasy Vanilla is among businesses participating in Temu’s Local Seller Program, launched in Europe in 2024 to help local merchants expand beyond their domestic markets.
Through partnerships with more than 150 logistics providers across Europe—including Bnode in Belgium, La Poste in France and DHL Group in Germany—Temu offers sellers access to affordable shipping and delivery infrastructure without requiring major investment in logistics.
After successfully establishing direct-to-consumer sales in Belgium, Malagasy Vanilla expanded into 14 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Poland.
Rabenandrasana said the logistics support, competitive shipping rates and seller assistance provided by Temu made the expansion possible.
“Without Temu and its partnership with Bnode, it would have been very difficult for a small business like ours to start selling directly to consumers,” she said.
She added that Temu also assists sellers in managing regulatory requirements such as the European Union’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance, making cross-border operations easier for small businesses.
Three Generations of Vanilla Expertise
Malagasy Vanilla traces its roots to three generations of the Rabenandrasana family in Madagascar’s vanilla industry.
Belinda’s grandfather began trading vanilla locally, while her father expanded operations across Madagascar. She launched the company’s international business in 2017, supplying premium Madagascan vanilla to European restaurants, pastry shops and food wholesalers before establishing operations in Belgium in 2023.
The company partners with growers and producer associations in Madagascar, where between 20 and 40 workers oversee the six- to 10-month curing process that transforms green vanilla pods into premium black vanilla.
Operations in Belgium focus on packaging, quality assurance and distribution.
Customer Reviews Drive Growth
Under its Lavani brand, Malagasy Vanilla sells gourmet-grade whole vanilla pods targeted at both professional chefs and home baking enthusiasts.
Rather than relying heavily on paid advertising, the company has benefited from Temu’s product discovery tools and customer reviews, helping the niche brand gain visibility organically.
According to Rabenandrasana, strong customer feedback has played a significant role in increasing traffic and boosting sales.
The brand currently maintains a customer review rating exceeding 99 per cent on the platform.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, Malagasy Vanilla plans to expand its European footprint further by establishing a warehouse in France and increasing sales across the continent.
The company is also developing new products, including vanilla extract and vanilla sugar, while planning to open a physical retail and production facility in Belgium later this year.
In addition, it intends to launch a social-impact initiative aimed at supporting vanilla-growing communities in Madagascar.
Reflecting on the company’s evolution, Rabenandrasana said the business continues to build on her family’s legacy.
“My grandfather worked locally, my father expanded nationally, and now we are building internationally,” she said.
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s digital economy have urged the Federal Government to review its partnership with global recruitment platform Hello.cv under the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, citing concerns over data security, digital sovereignty and the country’s “Nigeria First” policy.
3MTT
The concerns follow the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy’s announcement on May 6 of a 10 million-dollar partnership with Hello.cv aimed at increasing the global visibility of Nigerian technology professionals.
Under the initiative, 20,000 selected 3MTT fellows will receive a global professional profile package, including an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered job search agent, a professional curriculum vitae (CV) writer and a personal .cv domain, valued at 500 dollars per participant.
While stakeholders acknowledged the programme’s potential to improve global employment opportunities for Nigerian tech talent, they expressed concerns about the implications of hosting participants’ digital identities and data on a foreign domain.
Chief Executive Officer of Cyberchain and Global Digital Economy Strategist, Engr. Jude Ozinegbe, said the arrangement raised important questions about data ownership and jurisdiction.
According to him, registering domains under an entity outside Nigeria gives that entity a degree of control over activities associated with the domain.
“When you register your domain under a different entity outside your jurisdiction, that entity will have access to whatever is happening within that domain.
“In the long run, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) may have to examine the agreement and assess the security implications of such domain ownership,” he said.
Ozinegbe urged the NDPC to review the security protocols employed by Hello.cv to ensure compliance with Nigeria’s data protection regulations.
Also speaking, Ugonma Egwuatu of ECAM Global Services, an information and communications technology and data protection firm, said the security of data belonging to 20,000 fellows should be of significant interest to regulators.
She noted that while the ministry had the authority to determine how the programme was implemented, there was a need for greater transparency regarding the handling of participants’ personal information.
“The NDPC requires its registered Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs) to subscribe to the .ng domain.
“If a government ministry permits trainees to operate on a foreign domain, then the commission should examine the arrangement because we are dealing with the data of 20,000 Nigerians,” she said.
Egwuatu also called for clarity on how data generated through the platform would be processed, stored and protected.
“There should be explanations regarding the backend. What are they doing with the data of people who visit these sites? Why use a foreign domain instead of the .ng domain? These are legitimate questions that deserve answers,” she said.
She added that government should ensure appropriate third-party agreements and safeguards were in place before implementing such initiatives.
On his part, Chief Executive Officer of DNS Africa, Dr. Adebunmi Adeola Akinbo, said the objectives of the programme could still have been achieved while leveraging Nigeria’s country code top-level domain.
According to him, Hello.cv could have registered a hello.cv.ng or hellocv.ng domain in collaboration with the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA).
“The .ng domain can conveniently accommodate such a platform. If Hello.cv intends to onboard millions of Nigerians, it can work with NiRA to create a local domain structure.
“That way, the investment remains within Nigeria, strengthens the digital economy and supports local internet infrastructure,” he said.
Akinbo argued that excluding the .ng domain from the initiative undermined Nigeria’s digital identity and sovereignty.
“As good as the programme may sound, leaving the .ng domain outside this engagement and taking Nigerian data outside the country’s digital jurisdiction is not the best approach,” he said.
Also commenting, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Precise Financial Systems Ltd., Yele Okeremi, stressed the importance of ensuring that investments in Nigeria’s digital economy create long-term domestic value.
According to him, building a sustainable technology ecosystem requires more than developing skilled professionals.
“Investment, particularly in technology and the knowledge economy, is not just about having smart people.
“It is also about who owns the infrastructure and who ultimately benefits from the value created. Nigeria must ensure it retains as much of that value as possible,” he said.
Similarly, Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, described the use of foreign domains for a government-sponsored initiative as inconsistent with efforts to promote Nigeria’s digital economy.
“I don’t know where this idea came from, but it is unpatriotic for Nigerian companies funded by Nigerian resources to adopt .cv domains instead of .ng.
“Global companies such as Google register country-specific domains like google.ng when operating locally. Registering 20,000 additional .ng domains would improve Nigeria’s online visibility and strengthen the local internet ecosystem,” he said.
Rudman urged the Federal Government to support indigenous digital infrastructure by encouraging the use of the .ng domain.
The 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme is a flagship initiative of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy aimed at equipping Nigerians with globally relevant digital skills.
The programme provides free training in areas including software development, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, machine learning, animation, DevOps and user interface/user experience design through a hybrid learning model.
Stakeholders maintained that while the partnership with Hello.cv could expand international employment opportunities for Nigerian technology professionals, greater attention should be paid to safeguarding the country’s digital assets, promoting local internet infrastructure and ensuring compliance with Nigeria’s data protection framework.
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