046
W estern
A frica :
N igeria
N I G E R I A
Western Africa: Nigeria Overview Nigeria had a GDP of USD $397 billion in 2019 and a population of 206 million in 2020.207,208 It has approximately 37 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 41.6 million jobs. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) initial estimates (post-COVID-19) expect Nigeria’s economy to grow 2.4% in 2021, after contracting anywhere between 3.4% to 9% in 2020. This is 6 to 11 or more percentage points below Nigeria’s expected pre-pandemic growth in 2020, and expected to be half a percentage slower than previous estimates in 2021.209,210 This study estimates that 1.29 million social enterprises are operating in Nigeria in 2020, offering 1.45 million direct jobs.211 This figure is particularly high compared to all other target countries, due to the high number of SMEs in Nigeria. The population is still expected to grow by 2.7% annually, leading to a working age population (15-64) of 147.7 million people in 2030.212 This study projects that approximately 1.88 million direct jobs will be in social enterprises in Nigeria by 2030, an increase of approximately 432,000 since 2020. As discussed further below, government support, growing internet penetration and an increasingly sophisticated ICT sector, and SME-led industrialization are expected to drive this growth in jobs. Social enterprises in the agricultural sector are projected to provide significant additional income opportunities in 2030, driven by technical and operational support offered by the government. Figure 19 shows the total number of direct jobs that could be in social enterprises in 2020 and 2030. 1,883,763
2.0 M
1,451,643 1.5 M
1.0 M
0.5 M
0
Number of jobs 2020
Number of jobs 2030
Figure 19: Estimated direct jobs in social enterprises in Nigeria, 2020-2030
