Nigeria’s digital economy is experiencing a significant acceleration, with the country now ranked sixth globally for app downloads following an impressive 320 percent surge over the past two years.
This insight was revealed by Olumide Balogun, director for West Africa at Google, during the recent “Appcelerate” summit hosted by the tech giant.
Balogun noted that mobile applications are no longer just optional add-ons for businesses but have now become central to customer engagement, operational efficiency, and innovation. This shift, he emphasised, signals a market characterised by deeper user engagement, heightened loyalty, and greater business opportunities for those who effectively harness the app-driven economy.
“The digital pulse of Nigeria beats fastest on mobile,” he said, underlining that Nigerians spend over four hours daily on their mobile phones, with 80 percent of that time dedicated to app usage. Balogun added that with app usage and purchases projected to hit N1 billion across the African continent by 2025, Nigerian marketers can no longer afford to ignore this digital wave.
According to Balogun, the mobile revolution is accelerating across the continent. Smartphone penetration is expected to reach 880 million users in Africa by 2030, while monthly mobile data usage is projected to triple. In this rapidly evolving landscape, apps have transitioned into a vital growth driver for marketers and business owners alike.
To navigate and capitalise on Nigeria’s increasingly app-driven digital economy, Balogunshared a set of strategic insights aimed at helping marketers stay competitive in this fast-evolving landscape.
Balogun underscored the importance of rethinking how customer journeys are approached. He advised marketers to treat the journey as a unified experience, rather than dividing audiences into “web customers” and “app customers.” According to him, Nigerian consumers now transition fluidly between browsers and apps—often completing a purchase by moving back and forth across platforms.
He stressed the need for marketers to focus on profitable app engagement, describing app users as the most valuable segment of today’s digital audience. These users, he explained, are more engaged, exhibit stronger loyalty, and tend to spend significantly more than users who rely solely on websites.
With digital privacy becoming increasingly important, Balogun pointed out that mobile apps offer marketers a critical opportunity to gather direct, consented customer data. This kind of data not only provides sharper insights but also aligns with global trends toward more transparent and privacy-conscious marketing practices.
Balogun also highlighted the limitations of relying solely on organic growth to expand app user bases. He recommended leveraging Google Ads’ app campaigns, which are designed to help brands reach billions of users across Google Search, the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, and more than two million websites and apps on the Google Display Network.
Speaking further, he noted the unique role YouTube plays in driving app discovery and product awareness. With nearly two billion logged-in users monthly and over a billion hours of video watched each day, YouTube offers unmatched visibility and reach. It remains one of the most powerful platforms for marketers seeking to connect with digital-first audiences at scale.
Balogun’s insights collectively point to a digital future where apps form the backbone of customer engagement and business growth. For Nigerian marketers, he emphasised, success lies in understanding how to build, grow, and maximise app experiences in a mobile-first world.
