NITDA: Digitalising MSMEs Can Increase Nigeria’s GDP By $53bn

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has revealed that that digitalisation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could increase Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) by $53 billion.

The director-general, NITDA, Kashify Abdullahi spoke on Thursday at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) digital transformation centre in Lagos.

Quoting recent research, he said any MSME that transformed digitally could increase its revenue by 26 percent and reduce cost by 22 percent.

Abdullahi added that the digital transformation of MSMEs would help grow the nation’s economy.

“Statistical research in 2018 showed that digitally transformed enterprises contributed $13.5 trillion to the global GDP, and it is projected that in 2023, it will reach $53.3 trillion, which is more than 50 percent of the global GDP,” he said.

“Therefore, if we in Nigeria can digitally transform our MSMEs, it could add 26 percent to GDP or to the revenue of the MSMEs.

“Today, MSMEs contribute 43 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP which is about $205 billion. Twenty-six per cent of this means digitisation of our MSMEs can increase our GDP by $53 billion.

The NITDA boss said the federal government is committed to digitally transforming the economy through a seven-point strategic roadmap and action plan.