Here’s How Big Data is Redefining the Nigerian Economy.
Humans have always been somewhat psyched about data and this excitement has birthed one of the most rewarding careers of the 21st century — Data Science. Every day, activities across different spheres generate more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. With data analytics, businesses can organize large chunks of data into predictive models that provide better competitive insights, among other benefits.
Data Science has become a primary catalyst in Nigeria’s acceleration towards a tech-driven economy as many organizations now recognize the need to capitalize on big data for calculated decision-making. From job creation to business expansion, here are 4 ways Data Science is redefining the Nigerian economy.
- New Career Opportunities
Increased reliance on big data has created a wealth of career opportunities in the Nigerian workspace. Essentially, there is a surge in the demand for data scientists as more organizations require their expertise to comprehend and utilize data for strategic business development in the country.
The career opportunities in data science expectedly result in higher remuneration for data professionals. According to a 2020 report by PayScale, the median salary for a data scientist in Nigeria is 2 million Naira, and globally, data scientists can earn as much as $100,000.
A 2018 review by the Harvard Business School aptly describes data science as one of the hottest jobs of the 21st century. This means that with the right expertise, data scientists in Nigeria can easily access global career opportunities in other climes.
2. Business Expansion and Optimisation
Data science is helping organizations in Nigeria to optimize their business processes and improve client experience. For instance, e-commerce companies and retail stores rely on data analytics to determine consumer patterns, improve products, and drive innovation.
In terms of industry competition, businesses in Nigeria now lean towards quantitative analysis as opposed to traditional market research, to help them navigate challenges and expand their reach on target markets. In addition, many organizations use big data to track and adapt to changes in the needs of their industries.
3. Data-Driven Policy Formulation
To accelerate strategic policy formulation for economic development, the Nigerian government is starting to rely on statistical patterns revealed via data visualization. Primarily, data-science helps the government to measure policy feasibility and to understand the effect of its economic decisions on stakeholders.
Data analytics is one of the proven ways for governments to track the evolving dynamics of the Nigerian economy. Numerical evidence communicates useful insights into emerging digital trends and patterns, and this proves useful in drafting policies for the Nigerian economy.
4. Refocusing Business Value
With data science, organizations can create actionable insights to help them refocus business value. Specifically, businesses in the Nigerian ecosystem depend on the real-time information provided by data analytics to measure growth and performance, evaluate brand campaigns, and identify areas needing improvement.
Final Words
As the government and the private sector continue to emphasize data-powered decision-making, there will be increased demands for competent professionals who can interpret and utilize data, effectively. Just like these institutions, individuals must become data-driven in order to fit into Nigeria’s emerging digital economy.
