Smart Phones Boosting E-commerce in Africa

All production activities in all sectors of the economy contribute to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation. There are several economic sectors in Nigeria namely; natural resources and mining sector, tourism sector, agricultural sector, education sector, health sector, the industrial sector, the social services sector, entertainment sector etc. The economic affluence of a country is determined by the GDP growth rate and Per capita GDP. The Human Development Reports (1990-2019) enlightens us on the economic development of nations over the years.  The reports gave vital development statistics which equally forms the Human Development Index (HDI).

This report is effective for the classification low-income, middle-income, or high income countries. The report differentiates between economic growth and economic development. Economic development is a broad concept which emphasizes an environment be formed to allow people to thrive and achieve their individual development goals. It condemned nations that failed in the equal distribution of income and wealth among people. Economic growth differs from economic development. The economy of Nigeria has experienced a new wave since the emergence of smart phones in the country.

The use of smart phones has impacted every sector of Nigeria’s economy from the natural and mining sector to the entertainment sector. One of the aspect in which the use of smart phones has impacted the economy is in the area of entrepreneurship. Business apps (such as Jumia, Konga, JiJi, Olist etc) created websites could be accessed on smart phones. These resources are set up in order to bring goods and services to the people. Online stores are also created as business accounts on social media platforms such as; Instagram, Facebook etc. These platforms provide space for advertisement of products, goods, and services. People search for products and make an order for delivery.

 The social media is an effective tool for sales and it helps people to shop conveniently from home. An individual do not need to own a physical shop before starting a business, but with a smart phone, data, and appropriate application of business tools- sales is made easy .For example, @ thewenduhub on instagram is an online men apparel store. This enforcement has boosted the transportation system in terms of logistics and courier services. This creates jobs of dispatch riders and vendors. Commercial banks took advantage of this innovation by creating mobile banking apps to ensure seamless banking. These mobile bank apps enable users to carry out various transactions without going to the bank.

This mobile banking app provides minor transactions such as account balance enquiry, transfers, change of alert number, purchase of airtime, and other services. On the aspect of entertainment, buying of DVD cassette to see movies or listen to music is no longer necessary. People have access to stream or download movies, music, football matches, concerts, or services via internet.Smart phones saved the collapse of the educational system. Due to the nature at which Covid-19 can be contracted, schools were shut down.

For months students remained at home without any form of motivation to study. Teachers were at home stranded on how to continue the year’s curriculum without any means of disseminating information, notes, and lessons. This did not only affect teachers but affected the economy, in the sense that there was no inflow of income for teaching services, hence no payment of tax. Until, the educational management saw the need for the adoption of e-learning in the educational system. However, schools and the government did not make provisions for students to adjust to this method of learning in terms of providing all students with gadgets. In the mean time, students who have a smart phone are adapting to this new learning.

Smart phone helps students to access materials on the internet, use e-library, and receive lectures online. There are educational apps that ensure seamless online learning such as moodle, edmodo etc. At this period of the pandemic, many companies and organizations are gradually shifting to ensure the possibility of staffs to work from home, while some are already working from home. This is made possible through the use of smart phone. A company’s board meeting can be held online instead via zoom app. Documents can be sent and received via e-mail or whatsapp, stored in the clouds or flash drive and retrieved when a hardcopy is required. Goods are delivered through dispatch riders, logistics company and couriered to where they are being ordered.

The GDP of Nigeria reduced as a result of the effect of the pandemic on all sectors of the economy. Nigeria ranks the 6^th country with high internet users of about 126,078,999 and 61% internet penetration. In spite of the high number of internet users in Nigeria. He still has a long way to go to reach full connectivity . Out of 36 states in Nigeria, only 10 states have the highest internet subscribers according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data. These states are; Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, FCT, Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Edo, Delta, and Niger states. These 10 states made up for 54.9% of the internet subscribers. It’s not a surprise that Lagos have the highest number of internet subscribers of about 14.192.283 which represented 15.2% of all active subscribers in Nigeria. From the examined data of 135 countries by the Imperial College Business School, a 10% increase in mobile broadband penetration could boost GDP by 0.6% to 2.8%.

 According to Global Entrepreneurship Mentor (GEM), there are three stages of economic development; factor driven, efficiency driven, and innovation driven. Countries that fall under the factor driven economy are faced with several development challenges. These countries highly rely on natural resources extractions and agriculture. They are economically referred to as small countries because of the following reasons; firstly, they lack the resources and facilities of converting these agricultural products and natural resources to finished products. Secondly, they do not have influence on international prices.

Thirdly, they are economically driven by necessity. It’s also said that citizens of these countries are entrepreneurship minded and have a high confidence of being successful as entrepreneurs. Nigeria, obviously classifies under the factor driven stage. The opportunity the smartphone use has brought to Nigeria is a bridge for Nigeria to achieving the millennial Sustainable Development Goals. The 20years of GSM facilities in Nigeria has increased the internet penetration and added massively to the GDP. The future of technology is Africa and Nigeria is the pivot.