非话语研究中心主任梅妃：详解尼日利亚电商机遇与挑战

9月25日，2024“丝路电商日”启动仪式暨“丝路电商”合作资源对接会在杭州数贸会期间举行。会上，中非话语研究中心主任梅妃发表了《“一带一路”共建国家代表合作推介》的演讲。

她指出，尼日利亚因人口众多、年轻且城市化水平高，成为电商投资优选。该国电商增长率达25%，占GDP的8%，预计2030年规模将达到245亿。电商吸引力在于人口结构变化、数字化支付普及及价格透明。同时，尼日利亚电商以移动驱动，互联网使用率高，但在线支付信任度需提升。未来，尼日利亚电商面临基础设施、安全及无现金支付等挑战，也迎来众多机遇。

以下为嘉宾的演讲内容整理：

大家下午好！女士们、先生们，尊敬的各位来宾，我是梅妃，来自中非话语研究中心。前面一位嘉宾已经为我们做了很多的阐述，实际上，谈到电商，非洲是一个非常好的投资选择。我现在要讲的是尼日利亚，非洲一个非常重要的国家，在电商方面的一些发展情况。譬如，为什么考虑尼日利亚？另外，还要讲到在电子商务领域我们的优势是什么？最后，我会指出一些区域，或许大家希望能够在这些区域发展电子商务。

首先，为什么选择尼日利亚？这是尼日利亚的地图，它也是非洲人口众多的国家之一。我们来看一下，这是尼日利亚的人口，2.33亿。到2024年末，将达到2.36亿，其中还有很大一部分是城市人口，占了54%。同时，尼日利亚的平均年龄为17.9岁，年龄人口结构非常年轻。另外，它也是世界上人口密度排名前三的国家之一。可以看到，人口数量非常高。

40%的人口年龄小于14岁。如果你看一下15到64岁之间的年龄段，它占到了56%。所以这是一个非常大的技术人群，可以开展电商业务。

数字经济方面的人口数据，第一位是中国，在中国之后印度排名第二，接着是巴西、俄罗斯等等。尼日利亚是世界上电商发展同时也是网络使用排名第五的国家。

我们来看一下尼日利亚电商发展的情况——25%的增长率，同时也占到了GDP的8%。到2030年的时候，电商将达到245亿的规模。

为什么尼日利亚的电子商务非常具有吸引力呢？一个是人口结构的变化，我相信有很多人，他们是新一代的人群，同时他们也越来越注重线上的活动。另外，支付方式变得越来越数字化，支付能力也在提高。

还有就是价格问题，价格在尼日利亚不是很透明。比如说有一个商品是200元，你可能要讨价还价降到一百元，但是电子商务的价格是更加透明的。

我们也看到了，从2010年开始，电子商务在尼日利亚发展得非常迅速，相信这种势头还将长期保持下去。

另外一方面，它是这种以移动为驱动的方式。就像我刚刚所讲到的，尼日利亚在互联网使用方面也是排名世界前列。我们也知道，目前为止，对于在线支付方面，人们还是存在一定的信任缺失的问题，所以还是比较谨慎的。

另外还有一些其他的组织，像Jumia电商平台，这些都是游戏规则的改变者。谈到这些巨头，有好几家公司都是非常知名的。

另外，我们来看一下尼日利亚电商格局的一些新兴趋势。如果你在INS以及其他的社交平台上有账户，就非常容易受到一些信息的推送，因为尼日利亚的电商宣传工作做得非常好。还有一些政府的政策也在激励电商的发展。这里就是尼日利亚电商发展的一些特征。

未来的话，我们也面临着一些重大挑战。首先是基础设施，在尼日利亚，基础设施也是一个关键的问题。因为如果没有基础设施，就没有办法发展电商。所以，对于基础设施，我们也需要去加强。

第二就是安全的问题，比如说数据保护，欺诈的泛滥。因为大家如果要使用数字支付，可能就会面临着被欺诈的风险。

第三也是刚才提到的无现金支付，在尼日利亚还是比较流行的。电商现在在尼日利亚发展的支柱也是我们的数字支付的流行。

现在我们也有非常多的机遇可以去抓住，可以去挖掘，在尼日利亚。我们希望更加关注一些专业的电商平台，比如说尼日利亚的这些电商人群，他们居住在大城市，所以我们希望能够提升这样的物流配送服务，去瞄准一些现在还比较欠缺的市场。

目前，我们也在和尼日利亚的一些州政府合作开发一些电商平台。我们也在合作开发一个数字公园，也和联邦政府签订了一个农业数字技能学院的平台。

这些就是尼日利亚现在的一个格局。未来，我们希望能够使用这样的创新技术，来发展推动电子商务，不仅在尼日利亚，也能够促进整个非洲地区电商的发展。

谢谢各位。

关于会议：

2024“丝路电商日”保留了去年的“一展、两活动”，“一展”就是丝路电商展，“两活动”是丝路电商走进杭城、丝路云品推荐周。在此基础上，还将举办两场对接会，一个是“丝路电商”合作资源对接会，另一个是中亚国际创新数字贸易对接会。此外，还将首次在“丝路云品”推荐周设立主宾国产品专区和金砖国家专区，届时还将与泰国国际直播电商博览会云互动，共同推介“丝路云品”好物。

以下是原英文演讲：

Distinguished guests,ladies and gentlemen,good afternoon everyone!I am Queen Modestus,from the Center for China-Africa Discourse Studies.The previous speaker,Dr.Kang,has already done much elaboration for us.In fact,as he rightly said,when it comes to e-commerce,Africa is a perfect choice for investment.I am going to talk about some of the developments in Nigeria,a very important country in Africa,in terms of e-commerce.For example,why consider Nigeria?Also,What’s the current state of e-commerce in the country?Finally,I will point out some areas where perhaps people would like to invest,in the future.

First,why Nigeria?To address this question,above is a map of Nigeria,which indicates that it is the most populous country in Africa.As we can see,the population of Nigeria is about 233 million.Estimated to reach 236 million by the end of this year,2024,.Interestingly,a large part of the population,roughly 54%,are urban.

Demographically,Nigeria boasts an interesting profile,40%of the population is under 14 years old,while 56%falls within the 15-64 age bracket,which gives an average age of 17.9.Also,according to the global ranking of internet users,Nigeria ranks 7th in internet usage,with China,India,Brazil,Russia,leading the pack,indicating a vast skilled workforce and active users ideal for e-commerce.

With regards to the current trends of e-commerce in Nigeria,between 2010-2012 the country had a 25%CAGR of 25%and currently should be around 12%.We have reasons to believe that by 2030,e-commerce will reach$24.5 billion.

Why is e-commerce becoming very attractive to Nigerians?One reason for this is the is demographic change,I believe that the younger generation,we call them the“Gen Z”are becoming more and more focused on online activities and smartphone usage.In addition,payment methods are becoming more digitized and the ability to make online payment is improving.There is also transparency in pricing,unlike the conventional market.For example,an item that is worth 100 Naira may be priced at 200 Naira so customers would have to haggle it down to hundred Naira,but e-commerce prices are much more transparent which makes it attractive to the younger generation.

With regards to the characteristics of the e-commerce industry in Nigeria,it is mostly mobile-driven.As I just mentioned,Nigeria is also ranked among the top 7 in the world,in terms of internet usage,there’s a rapid growth of e-commerce platforms but yet dominated by informal and fragmented markets,which is still very much cash-based.This is because,so far,there is still a certain lack of trust in terms of online payments,so people are still cautious.

When it comes to e-commerce in Nigeria,Jumia and Konga e-commerce platform are still the leading game changers in the country.Aside from these giants,however,several companies that are also doing quite well.

Looking at some emerging trends in the Nigerian e-commerce landscape,we noticed a rise in social commerce,online stores,and the integration of AI and analytics.Also,the Nigerian government is doing its best to promoting e-commerce in the country through cash-less polices.Hence,some government policies are incentivizing the growth of e-commerce.

As with every aspect of human lives,some of the major challenges of the e-commerce industry in Nigeria are:Firstly is infrastructure,which is also a key issue in Nigeria.Secondly is the issue of security concerns,like data protection,and cybercrime.Thirdly is the issue of cashless payment,which was mentioned earlier,digital payment is still not fully embraced in the country.

Where there are challenges,there are opportunities for improvement,hence there are also numerous opportunities that e-commerce investors can now seize and tap into in Nigeria.That is,they might want to focus more on some specialized e-commerce platforms,or maybe even go into under-served markets.Investing in logistics is also important as it can improve and enhance logistics and distribution services.

We at CECADS,are also playing our part in promoting e-commerce in Nigeria.We are currently working with some state governments in Nigeria to develop some e-commerce platforms,a digital park,and specialized online stores.We will also be working with the federal government of Nigeria to introduce our agricultural-focused digital skills academy which will also boast of dedicated a farm-plate e-commerce platform

These are a landscape of what is happening in Nigeria right now.In the future,we hope to use such innovative technologies to develop and promote e-commerce,not only in Nigeria but also in the whole of Africa.

Thank you all.

About the conference:

2024"Silk Road E-commerce Day"retains last year's"one exhibition,two activities", "one exhibition"is the Silk Road E-commerce exhibition, "two activities"is the Silk Road E-commerce into the"two activities", "two activities"is the Silk Road E-commerce into the"two activities".The"one exhibition"is the Silk Road E-commerce exhibition,and the"two activities"are Silk Road E-commerce into Hangzhou and Silk Road Cloud Products Recommendation Week.On this basis,two docking sessions will be held,one is the"Silk Road E-commerce"cooperation resource docking session,the other is the Central Asia International Innovative Digital Trade Docking Session.In addition,for the first time in the"Silk Road Yunpin"Recommendation Week will be set up as a special zone for the products of the guest country and the BRICS countries,and will interact with the Thailand International Live E-commerce Expo to jointly promote the"Silk Road Yunpin"goodies.