Nigeria to Regulate E-Commerce – Establishing laws that align with worldwide greatest practices can assist African e-commerce platforms enhance their competitiveness on the worldwide stage. This will facilitate cross-border e-commerce and open up new markets for companies on the continent.
The Nigerian authorities plans to manage e-commerce platforms and introduce cyber insurance coverage for customers. This initiative is a part of the draft Nationwide Digital Economic system and E-Governance Invoice beneath evaluation by the Nationwide Meeting.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economic system, the Invoice is within the public engagement section. It requires e-commerce platforms to offer clear and correct details about sellers, items, companies, and transaction phrases.
Throughout a media engagement in Abuja on July 9, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economic system Dr. Bosun Tijani mentioned the Invoice would create a authorized framework to speed up Nigeria’s digital economic system. “This Invoice will assist the expansion and transformation of Nigeria’s economic system by expertise,” he mentioned.
Part 40 of the Invoice mandates the Nationwide Insurance coverage Fee (NAICOM) and the Nationwide Info Know-how Growth Company (NITDA) to develop cyber insurance coverage laws for digital commerce.
Part 39 specifies that e-commerce sellers should present authorized names, addresses, and call particulars, guaranteeing efficient client communication and authorized course of service. It additionally mandates detailed descriptions of products or companies and clear phrases and situations, together with fee strategies, returns, and refund insurance policies.
If handed, main e-commerce platforms, in addition to smaller gamers, would face stricter laws and potential new taxes and levies imposed by NITDA. Non-compliance may end in fines.
The proposed laws is poised to impression the nation’s quickly rising e-commerce sector considerably. In accordance with the European Firm Database (ECDB) report titled eCommerce Market in Nigeria, this sector is anticipated to generate $2.68 billion in income by 2024 and develop at a compound annual development price of 12.8%, reaching $4.34 billion by 2028.