Is Nigeria Undermining Its Digital Economy With Bad Policy Decisions?

Nigel Cory argues in IT News Africa that Nigeria is undermining its emerging digital economy through short-sighted protectionist policies. In a classic case of misguided state-directed development, Nigeria is mandating local content requirements for a range of information and communications technology products. Furthermore, Nigeria is forcing firms that collect data on Nigerians to store it locally. These policies will have the effect of raising the costs for Nigerian businesses and consumers while sending a message to global IT companies that Nigeria isn’t a member of the open and global digital economy.