By Kester Omu
Deloitte’s latest country report has indicated that homegrown technology innovations, that are strategically designed to solve Nigeria’s unique challenges hold the key to unlocking the country’s untapped potential in industries outside the oil sector.
The report titled ‘Invest in Nigeria’, noted that to achieve success in Nigeria, it is key to invest both time and effort to develop a long-term strategy that will allay the complexities of the market.
That long term strategy is basically developing homegrown solutions that are designed by Nigerians and patronized by Nigerians. “Nigeria is a unique market that requires tailored solutions that draw on the lessons learnt from previous failures and successes,” said Dr Martyn Davies, Managing Director of Emerging Markets & Africa at Deloitte.
The report also stressed that government recent reforms have fostered recovery, unlocking Nigeria’s potential, West Africa’s economic powerhouse, which was plunged into economic trouble and in 2016 the country faced its first recession in over two decades.
“Heeding the call to diversify, the government of Africa’s most populous nation rose to the challenge and started to implement a number of initiatives to not only grow its economy but to protect it from similar commodity downswings in the future,” the report added.
Key take-outs from this report
- New government policies are creating an enabling environment in Nigeria. By putting the right recovery policies in place now, Nigeria has shown its commitment to enabling potential in the future.
- Around 75% of Nigeria’s government revenues are derived from oil, exposing the country to downswings in the commodity sector. A number of policy changes have been introduced to reduce Nigeria’s oil dependency.
- Nigeria has embarked on a targeted drive to attract a more diverse group of investors in the economy, bolstered by new policies including an investor and exporter foreign exchange window.
- Homegrown innovation holds the key to unlocking Nigeria’s untapped potential in industries outside the oil sector.