STORIES BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has said that courier companies in Nigeria must reposition and re-strategise to meet the growing demands of parcel delivery being driven by the boom in e-commerce in Nigeria.

She said there is no need for e-commerce companies to create separate logistics for delivery if the courier companies in the country can create a value proposition that appeals to and meets the demands of these e-commerce firms.

“The courier companies must have a value proposition for these companies because the opportunity is there. Letter delivery is declining but we are seeing an increase in parcel and goods delivery,” she said.

Johnson who was speaking at the Information and Communications Technology, ICT stakeholders’ forum in Lagos also disclosed that since 2011, the ministry has been making significant efforts to reform the Nigeria Postal Service, NIPOST to boost the economic value of the agency and the Post and Courier Services sector. She noted that the revised Gross Domestic Product, GDP figure showed that the sector’s contribution at 0.03 percent was low but that “the sector is however growing steadily, and is likely to experience more rapid growth as e-commerce expands.”

The minister who also presented her score card to the forum said part of the Ministry’s achievement in the last four years was the creation of the Technology Intervention Fund, an innovative intervention Fund which she said, closed at $16.2 million last year and “further rounds will aim to reach target of $50 Million.

According to her, the Fund will among other things: “help to grow the still very nascent Venture Capital industry in Nigeria and will fill the gap that exists where high risk capital is needed by entrepreneurs; target disruptive and innovative technology start-ups in Nigeria that have the potential to grow to become category leaders and create opportunities currently unavailable to the ever growing ecosystem of young Nigerian IT entrepreneurs.”