KPMG Nigeria’s Chief Economist, Dr Kale, has listed Nigeria’s youthful population as one of the vast economic potentials the country has compared to other emerging economies both regionally and globally.
Speaking during the Nairametrics Q2 2023 Economic Outlook Webinar on June 3, 2023, Dr Kale highlighted the key advantage Nigeria has over other African countries in terms of opportunities and strengths. He said:
- “I think that Nigeria’s vast potential is well recognized. It is something we have spoken about so many times. It’s what gives us that huge advantage in the continent and among several emerging economies. It is also what keeps investors continuously interested in Nigeria and even when they step out of Nigeria or slow their plans in Nigeria, they always keep one foot in the door, keeping their eyes on development in the country”
He emphasized that the largely young entrepreneurial-minded people of Nigeria are a big potential market and also a large potential workforce for the future.
He also stated that the large population can be important for remittances that Nigeria gets especially for those living in the diaspora.
Other great potentials
Dr Kale emphasized how Nigeria’s large arable land is yet to be fully exploited and doing so can make Nigeria a large exporter of mineral resources especially now that the world is moving away from fossil fuels. He said:
- “The huge arable land – about 650sqm – which is significantly less than half exploited presents Nigeria an opportunity to become a major powerhouse for export of raw, semi-processed, processed agricultural commodities and at the same time several exportable commodities can be produced for example rice, cocoa, peanuts”
Potential for ICT growth
Dr Kale also stressed that there is more potential for growth in ICT services in Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria is yet to scratch the surface of technological development. He said:
- “I think a lot of the things that Nigeria needs to do to fix a lot of its challenges lies in technology development whether it’s expanding the tax net, whether it’s fighting corruption or deepening financial inclusion, I think technology is the way to go. And I think there is still huge significant growth for the technological sector, I don’t even think we have scratched the surface as far as Nigeria is concerned.”
He noted that if the Federal Government focuses on the development of data centres, Nigeria would be able to build global value chains that would in turn employ thousands of its young people in the job market yearly thereby harnessing the youth potential he earlier talked about.
He said doing all these would even make it possible for Nigerians to pay more tax to the government and also contribute to consumer spending.
Credit: Nairametrics
