Nigeria's High Tech Savvy

Nigeria, a country of over 150 million people with widespread social and economic challenges, in the midst of stupendous amounts of natural resources, is an enigma. I'll leave the discussion of the country's political and economic woes for another day, but there are things enterprising citizens of the World can benefit from Nigerians.

Nigerians are hi-tech savvy. They use the Internet and mobile devices very heavily. Even millions of elderly local women in the villages are now connected, with their handsets tied to their wrappers as they go to the market or their farms.

Here are the statistics:

• Nigeria (with over 45 million active Internet users) ranks 10th in the World, according to Internet World Statistics published by Miniwatts Marketing Group. 
• Nigeria (with over 76 million mobile subscribers) ranks 16th in the World, according to International Telecommunication Union 2009, Mobile cellular, subscriptions per 100 people, 2009, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland, viewed 28th January, 2010.

With such high numbers of hi-tech adoption above, there is no doubt that the most effective way anyone can rally the Nigerian people in this information era is through ingenious Web and mobile technologies. Through these technologies, businesses and public officials can build a large and strong grassroots movement, or expand and solidify their grassroots support or customer base.