Nigeria’s digital economy is expanding rapidly, but major structural gaps continue to limit its impact. Reports on connectivity, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure show that while internet coverage has reached over 90 per cent in some areas and 5G networks are gradually expanding, actual usage remains low due to affordability challenges, limited device ownership, and uneven rural access. Feature phones still dominate mobile usage in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting the income barrier that keeps millions offline despite available infrastructure.

At the same time, cybersecurity risks are increasing across critical sectors. The Nigerian Communications Commission warned that thousands of cyberattacks and fibre cuts were recorded in 2025, alongside rising threats from AI-powered attacks, ransomware, and data breaches. With most national data still hosted outside Africa, concerns over data sovereignty and system vulnerability continue to grow, especially as more services move online.

Across industries, experts are also pointing to a widening gap between digital ambition and real-world execution. Although most organisations prioritise digital ecosystems, only a small fraction are effectively sharing and integrating data. Legacy systems, weak governance, and poor coordination between stakeholders continue to slow progress, limiting the value of investments in digital transformation.

In response, regulators and institutions are introducing reforms aimed at improving efficiency and trust in the system. These include the rollout of Nigeria’s e-invoicing framework to improve tax compliance and transparency, foreign exchange market reforms designed to create clearer rules and reduce uncertainty, and new cybersecurity frameworks to strengthen resilience across the telecoms sector.

Despite these efforts, stakeholders say the core challenge remains the same: infrastructure is improving, but affordability, security, and execution capacity are still lagging behind. Without stronger coordination and broader inclusion, experts warn that the digital divide could widen further even as technology adoption accelerates.

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has appointed Upperlink Limited as the official system integrator for Nigeria’s national e-invoicing platform, marking a key step in the country’s ongoing tax digitisation drive.

Under the arrangement, Upperlink will support businesses in connecting to the NRS Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS) framework, enabling real-time invoice validation, secure transmission of financial data, and compliant digital tax reporting in line with the federal government’s new electronic invoicing regime.

The initiative is part of a phased rollout by the tax authority, which will make e-invoicing mandatory for companies based on turnover thresholds, as Nigeria seeks to improve transparency, efficiency, and revenue collection.

The Managing Director of Upperlink Limited, Olusegun Akano, said the appointment reflects the company’s long-standing expertise in enterprise technology, digital infrastructure, and large-scale service delivery.

He noted that Upperlink has developed secure and scalable platforms across government, financial services, and enterprise systems, adding that the firm is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a Payment Solution Service Provider and operates as an aggregator to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.

Akano also highlighted the company’s broader credentials in digital infrastructure, including its status as the first ICANN-accredited registrar in Nigeria.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Opeyemi Oni, said the approval reinforces Upperlink’s role in helping businesses comply with the new e-invoicing framework while reducing operational friction and improving transparency in financial reporting.

According to the NRS, the rollout will be implemented in phases, targeting large, medium, and smaller taxpayers based on annual turnover thresholds ranging from above ₦5 billion to below ₦1 billion.

Once fully implemented, businesses will be required to integrate their invoicing and accounting systems with the NRS-approved platform to ensure real-time issuance, validation, and submission of invoices through authorised channels.

As system integrator, Upperlink will be responsible for designing, deploying, and supporting compliant invoicing systems, including middleware and portal-based solutions for organisations with varying levels of digital readiness.

The development underscores Nigeria’s broader push toward digital tax administration, aimed at improving compliance, reducing leakages, and modernising revenue collection infrastructure.

Nigeria’s expanding digital ecosystem is facing rising exposure to cyberattacks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, financial fraud, and other emerging security risks, with experts warning that weak institutional coordination is worsening the situation across critical sectors.

The concerns were raised at the inaugural Enterprise Security Risk Management Conference organised by the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP), where stakeholders said the rapid digitisation of banking, telecommunications, healthcare, governance, and enterprise systems has significantly increased national risk exposure.

Speaking at the event themed “Repositioning Enterprise Security Risk Management in an Evolving Global Threat Landscape: A Multi-Stakeholder Imperative,” industry leaders noted that modern threats are no longer isolated but interconnected, affecting both digital and physical infrastructure simultaneously.

Chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of Advantec Marine Services, Bolanle Ati-John, said Nigeria’s threat environment now extends beyond traditional security challenges to include cybercrime, infrastructure sabotage, supply chain disruption, disinformation, and economic shocks.

He warned that attacks on critical systems could rapidly escalate across multiple sectors, creating broader national and economic consequences.

“A cyberattack on a bank is not merely an IT problem. It can become a financial stability problem,” he said, stressing the need for anticipatory and intelligence-driven security systems.

In a presentation delivered on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Communications Commission, the commission raised concerns over increasing digital vulnerabilities across the country.

The NCC disclosed that more than 27,000 fibre cuts and over 4,000 cyberattacks were recorded in 2025 across banking, telecommunications, healthcare, and government systems.

It warned that AI-powered attacks, ransomware-as-a-service, and data breaches are becoming more sophisticated, increasing pressure on national cybersecurity infrastructure.

The commission also noted that nearly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s data is hosted outside Africa, raising concerns about data sovereignty and national security risks.

According to the NCC, the rollout of 5G networks, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies will further expand Nigeria’s attack surface unless stronger cybersecurity governance frameworks are implemented.

To address these challenges, the commission said it has introduced a Cyber Resilience Framework for the communications sector, aimed at improving threat detection, incident response, and risk management across licensed operators, with full enforcement expected from February 2027.

Chief Information Security Officer of Quest Merchant Bank, Maji Alamogu, also warned that cyber risks have evolved beyond technical issues into enterprise-wide threats capable of disrupting operations and compromising customer data.

She stressed that cybersecurity is now a boardroom issue, requiring integration into corporate governance, risk management, and compliance systems.

Director of Halogen Security Risk Advisory and Consulting, Adewale Adeagbo, added that the increasing complexity of threats demands more proactive and coordinated risk management approaches.

He noted that modern security risks are dynamic and interconnected, requiring organisations to shift from reactive responses to preventive strategies.

Other speakers at the conference emphasised that weak coordination among institutions remains a major challenge, with some warning that risk often spreads faster than responsibility in today’s interconnected environment.

They called for stronger collaboration between government agencies, private sector operators, and security institutions to improve intelligence sharing and enhance national resilience.

The conference concluded with a consensus that Nigeria must adopt enterprise-wide, anticipatory security frameworks to effectively manage emerging cyber and infrastructure threats in an increasingly digital economy.