E-Business
‘Nigeria’s IT Market Is Growing’
Ash Tulsiani is the managing director and chief executive officer of PC PRO (Electronic) Distribution Nigeria Ltd. He spoke to peter ugwu on the company’s vision for the Nigerian IT market, assessment of the CBN’s cashless policy among others issues.
PC PRO in Nigeria
We have been supplying goods to the IT markets in Nigeria in the last fifteen (15) years, however, we arrived Nigeria from England since last year to set up official base. We have been seriously engaged in supplying electronic equipment to the major parts of Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. The company was established in the last 45 years in the United Kingdom, and our stores are spread in many countries. We have been dealing on major electronic brands like, HP, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, LG, etc. And the investment runs into several million of pounds. PC PRO Distribution at the same time is gaining more grounds, trying to increase the market shares. For instance, since last year we have doubled our market shares; after that we moved to Nigeria. We want to make sure that the average end-user gets value for their investment or money put in purchasing IT equipment. Even companies benefit from our creditable platform.
How?
Just like we have done in UK, we have kept a class of dealing with genuine equipment. The truth is that quality goods don’t last long in the market it is most beneficial to the users and the economy at large. When people see how genuine your products are, you will witness more patronage. And to re-echo our intention of making sure that the public gets the best value, we are supplying to the retailers at ridiculous low prices, so they can forward to the people. Apart from that, the IT equipments are obtained directly from the manufacturers by our company in UK. And for such consignment to be accepted in UK it must be subject to certain tests. Only when the tests are through that you can sell, if not we are committed to the point that any defective batch must be sent back to the manufactures. So we maintain quality, low price and of course, presently we have wide range of camera, tvs, and new gadgets that enhance businesses.
Investment in Nigeria
Even though I may not be able to quote figures, but we have made significant inputs to the development of IT market in the country, and we are willing to do more. Right now, we are spreading our business operations to other cities in Nigeria with sole of deploying quality product in the market and delivery on time. We have come to realize that low quality products move into the market, especially when the genuine ones are out of stock.
Viability of ICT market in Nigeria
Following the discovery of the viability of the market, we are expanding our distribution network. At present, we have agents all over the country and like I said earlier, we are determined to open up more office, so we can be closer to the customers. In that regard, the pricing can be done right. The Nigerian IT market is growing by the day and it will continue to expand, for instance, we are planning to partner educational administrators in the country and various corporate bodies like banks to give us the opportunity to fix some challenges they are having. ICT has become a way of life. It’s like air we breathe in, no business can succeed today without the help of ICT applications.
Cashless Policy
The Cashless economy is more or less not working at the moment. It is still a kind of shaky ground. One outstanding problem is that most Point of Sale (PoS) deployed in various stores, malls, etc are not working optimally; is disappointing that at the critical time one needs to make use of them you find them not operational. Both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the initiator and regulator and the banks as the operators must align together to see to the success of the economic policy. They must not neglect complaints as they come in, because successful implementation of the policy is dependent on the level of public acceptability and compliance. Although the percentage of mobile users has increased tremendously, but we have to consider how many of them apply the same in fund transfer? What is the sensitization level? Moreso, for all to participate, we must not neglect the importance of high quality products.
Workers
I am sorry, I don’t have workers here. I have a team of experts, who are dedicated to the course. We work together for the progress of the company. They are all happy and go about performing their duties even with less supervision.
Uniqueness of PC PRO
We are driven by two principal standards- to add value to peoples’ life through qualitative service. If the man in the street is satisfied with service rendered to him, of course, I should be confident that he will call-in again. That is one point several organizations have missed to acknowledge. Not only that, they go to the extent of selling to people at exorbitant prices; they don’t care what people say. For instance, we don’t supply equipment and leave them in the dark, we have a technical support team that give them attention when arises for that. We want all to be part of ICT driven economy in the Nigeria. And in our way of aiding the process, we make sure our stock come from Europe, US, Dubai, etc and the quality is not in doubt.
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.
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