The Potential Of The Internet In Nigeria
Temi Kolawole
History
- The Internet became a reality in Nigeria in the late 90's
- Obafemi Awolowo University was the first university in Nigeria to have its own VSAT internet link.
Progress So Far
- Cybercafes have boomed over the past 10 years with at least 2 on every major urban road in Nigerian cities.
- Telecom Providers have taken this into Nigerian homes with wireless dialup internet plans.
- Nigeria is now the largest internet user in Africa, with over 10% of the continent's population.
- Nigerians now rely on the internet for more and more daily activities & business.
Africa Top 10 Internet Countries
Internet Penetration in Africa

Obstacles
- Power outages
- Low (but growing) level of appreciation for web 2.0.
- Fraud
- Poor e-Commerce options
Potential & Opportunities
- Nigeria has the largest population in Africa.
- Nigeria is still behind on the web 2.0 scene.
- The web industry in Nigeria is still very unsaturated.
- The ever reducing cost of Internet usage makes more and more people use it.
- The mobile boom being experienced creates opportunity for lots of mobile & 3G integration.
- The level of competition in the Nigerian web industry is still low.
In Summary
- Nigeria can become Africa's "Russia" or even "India" when it comes to the internet. What all these countries have in common is a large population.
- The Nigerian market is still young, and is at least 7 years behind.
- There is a LOT of opportunity for web startups in Nigeria.