TECH FIRMS CREATING EMPLOYMENT, REVIVING NIGERIA’S ECONOMY
Tech firms in Nigeria are making significant contributions in responding to concerns over the unemployment rate and economic state of the nation. Daily, many youths are provided the opportunities of exploring their talents and being recruited to make up the workforce of the industry which has been described as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. Knowing that the population of youths outnumber available jobs, however, many opportunities are being created with the existence of tech firms. These opportunities are particularly helping in closing the unemployment gap, helping businesses grow and increasing national revenue. Group CEO of Nigeria’s leading B2B e-commerce tech firm, Adewale Opaleye noted that Nigeria has a predominantly youthful population which when optimised is of immeasurable advantage to the economy. ‘‘In 2019, it was estimated that about 65 percent of the population are between 0-24 years old. This is a great asset. Unfortunately, the population of youths is far more than the available jobs. The good part of this is that most of these youths are digital natives, which means the digital economy can create employment for them,’’ Opaleye said. Alerzo, he said, has employed over 3,000 youths in its employment and has continued to impact informal retailers and micro businesses through its innovative business solutions. He stated: ‘‘Aside from Alerzo operations and logistics services that employ thousands directly, we are also enabling the retailers to create more jobs for the Nigerian youths, especially in the rural areas.’’ ”We provide financial support through Alerzo lending service for retailers on our platform. We also know that a lot of these entrepreneurs need basic knowledge to run and grow their business. So we engage in capacity building initiatives. Through these, a lot of SMEs in Nigeria have been able to grow their businesses. ‘‘The digital economy holds enormous potential for Nigeria’s development. Investing in it will provide employment, help SMEs to grow, improve government revenue and ultimately drive development,” he added.