Despite Tech Boom, Nigeria Losing Economic Value to Foreign Markets — Expert Warns

Nigeria’s accelerating push toward technology skills and digital innovation may be unintentionally draining value from the local economy, according to Professor Olufemi Shuaib, a senior academic at the University of Lagos.

Speaking at the Economic Roundtable Discussion hosted by the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget at Protea Hotel, Alausa, Ikeja, Shuaib warned that the nation is “exporting jobs” by focusing too heavily on digital-only solutions that serve foreign markets rather than building homegrown industrial and technological capacity.

Tech Skills Rising, But Local Economic Value Falling

Shuaib explained that although young Nigerians are gaining skills in content development, digital marketing, app building, and cross-border payment solutions, many of these innovations do not contribute to local production or domestic industry.

“If we are creating people who can do content development and digital marketing, and we don’t have anything to sell in Nigeria, we are compounding the local problem. Because we are transferring jobs away,” he said.

He added that many students—especially those from economic and business backgrounds—are building apps for international transactions instead of solutions that support local value creation.

“They develop apps that help you buy overseas, apps that help you transfer money overseas. They are personally gaining value, but the economy is losing value.”

Shift From IT to Industrial Technology

The professor urged policymakers to steer the country toward industrial technology—solutions that enable Nigeria to produce goods, machinery, and small-scale technological components locally.

“Can we go from information technology to industrial technology? Where people build apps that can produce even ordinary technology so that we have value created in Nigeria that we can market to the world?”

He emphasized that government, not the private sector, must lead this shift. Public-private partnerships, he said, should focus on empowering local engineers and tech builders to produce tangible technology products capable of reducing import dependence.

Nigeria’s Import Dependence Still Rising

Nigeria remains heavily reliant on imported manufactured goods—valued at N8.47 trillion in Q4 2024—with China, India, Belgium, the U.S., and France leading as major sources. Total imports rose to N16.59 trillion, underscoring the country’s vulnerability to global market shocks.

The manufacturing sector’s share of GDP remains low, dropping from 8.64% in 2023 to 8.41% in 2024, highlighting a persistent structural imbalance.

Industrial Policy Underway — But Challenges Remain

The federal government is finalizing a new Nigerian Industrial Policy aimed at reducing import dependence and boosting local production in key sectors such as:

Textiles

Automotive

Agro-processing

Pharmaceuticals

The goal is to strengthen manufacturing’s contribution to GDP, improve job creation, and diversify exports.

Nigeria’s Tech Sector Still Booming

While the industrial economy struggles, tech investment continues to surge:

Nigerian startups raised over $400 million in 2024, driven by large rounds including Moove and Moniepoint.

In October 2025 alone, startups secured $93.4 million, a 130.6% jump from September.

Lagos emerged as Nigeria’s top tech capital hub, attracting over $6 billion in funding between 2019 and 2024.

Despite this growth, experts warn that without an industrial tech foundation, Nigeria risks scaling a digital economy without a strong productive base.