Five years after the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS 2020–2030), Nigeria’s ambition to transform into a leading digital economy has produced mixed results. The policy, introduced in 2020, set out eight pillars designed to drive broadband expansion, digital identity coverage, skills development, innovation, indigenous content participation, trust infrastructure, e-government, and regulatory reforms. While some areas have seen significant achievements, others remain stalled or have progressed only partially due to structural, financial, and institutional challenges.
This article critically reviews the implementation outcomes of the policy based on available data, focusing on four core dimensions: areas of strong progress, moderate achievements, limited success, and key lessons for the next phase.
Areas of Strong Progress: Digital Identity and Institutional Alignment
One of the most successful aspects of NDEPS implementation is the digital identity programme managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Since 2020, Nigeria has made major strides in enrolling citizens into the National Identification Number (NIN) database. As of June 2025, over 121 million Nigerians have been successfully enrolled, compared to fewer than 40 million before the policy’s launch. Diaspora enrolments have also expanded significantly, reaching about 1.5 million records, supporting cross-border identity integration and financial inclusion.
This rapid progress has been enabled by linking NIN enrolment to mandatory services such as SIM card registration, banking verification, and government benefits. The scale of enrolment strengthens Nigeria’s capacity to deliver identity-enabled services, improve Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliance, and enhance security frameworks. However, there are growing concerns about data privacy and governance safeguards. While the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) is operational, enforcement remains weak, and the absence of an independent oversight framework limits public trust in how personal data is collected and used.
Institutionally, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has provided structure to NDEPS delivery through its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP). The introduction of SRAP 2.0 (2024–2027) shows sustained commitment to aligning policy intent with actionable programmes, particularly in areas of emerging technology adoption, innovation funding, and skills training. This structural alignment represents one of the clearest wins of the policy so far.
Moderate Achievements: Broadband, Digital Skills, and Regulatory Framework
Significant but uneven progress has been recorded in expanding Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure. According to industry reports, national broadband penetration improved from 39.9 percent in 2020 to approximately 48.8% by May 2025. The rollout of fibre-optic infrastructure, investments in internet exchange points (IXPs), and increasing private-sector participation have driven this growth. However, the country remains far from its ambitious target of 70 percent penetration by the end of 2025. Challenges such as high Right of Way (RoW) costs, funding gaps, and coordination failures between federal and state governments continue to slow nationwide coverage.
On digital skills development, the government has introduced several flagship initiatives, including the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme under NITDA and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. These programmes aim to develop large-scale expertise in areas like software engineering, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. While thousands of Nigerians have benefited from training opportunities, there is limited public data on completion rates, job placements, and certification outcomes, making it difficult to measure impact at scale.
The regulatory environment has evolved moderately. The NDPR provides a baseline for data protection, and the draft Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill (2024) seeks to harmonise laws governing digital services and cybersecurity. However, key components of converged digital regulation, including interoperability standards, breach notification rules, and algorithmic accountability frameworks, remain incomplete. This creates uncertainties for investors, service providers, and consumers.
Limited Success: E-Government, Indigenous Content, and Financing Transparency
Despite the centrality of e-government in NDEPS, implementation has lagged significantly. While some federal platforms such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), IPPIS, and GIFMIS are operational, there is no publicly available dashboard that tracks the percentage of government services fully digitised or measures citizen adoption rates. Without transparent reporting, it is difficult to evaluate whether the promise of a more efficient, data-driven public sector is being realised.
Similarly, the promotion of indigenous digital content has not translated into measurable outcomes. While procurement preferences exist under Executive Orders 003 and 005, data on the share of public ICT contracts awarded to local firms remains unavailable. Nigeria’s broader ambition to increase digital exports and strengthen its homegrown technology ecosystem requires clearer performance benchmarks and better enforcement of existing policies.
Financial transparency is another major weakness. The NDEPS promised a costed implementation plan, transparent deployment of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), and a dedicated public-private partnership for a 90,000-kilometre fibre backbone. As of mid-2025, no costed logframe has been published, USPF governance remains opaque, and the fibre special-purpose vehicle (SPV) has yet to move beyond the planning stage. Without clear funding structures, implementation risks becoming inconsistent and unsustainable.
Key Lessons and Next Steps for the Digital Economy
After five years of implementation, NDEPS demonstrates both the possibilities and pitfalls of digital transformation in a complex policy environment. The digital identity programme offers a proof of concept for what can be achieved when goals, institutions, and resources are aligned. Broadband expansion, skills development, and regulatory reforms show that moderate success is possible, but these areas require better coordination and financing mechanisms to achieve full potential.
To accelerate progress, Nigeria should prioritise three actions over the next phase. First, the government must publish a costed, time-bound implementation logframe that clearly links budgets to measurable outcomes across all eight pillars. Second, stronger institutional mechanisms are needed to enforce transparency in public procurement, USPF deployment, and local content participation. Finally, safeguarding citizen data through an independent privacy oversight body would help build trust in digital services, especially as NIN-linked platforms scale.
Nigeria’s digital economy has made meaningful strides since 2020, but sustaining momentum will require more than infrastructure rollout. It will depend on closing affordability gaps, improving service adoption, fostering inclusive innovation, and embedding transparency and trust at the heart of the ecosystem.
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