Nigeria’s unemployment rate is expected to take a new turn in 2023, rising further to 40.6 percent, according to an economic report by KPMG.

The fourth quarter report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for 2020 had put Nigeria’s unemployment at 33.3 percent, while in the past two years; the nation has recorded further dip in job losses amid sluggish economic growth and influx of fresh graduates into the labor market, pushing the figure up.

KPMG In its report titled; ‘Global Economic Outlook’, said the resulting consequence of the slow economic growth will be an increase in the unemployment figures. The NBS has not published the unemployment rate since 2020, but KPMG estimates that the rate has increased to 37.7% in 2022 and will rise further to 40.6% in 2023.

“Unemployment is expected to continue to be a major challenge in 2023 due to the limited investment by the private sector, low industrialization and slower than required economic growth and consequently the inability of the economy to absorb the 4?5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year,” KPMG said in the report.

“Although lagged, the National Bureau of Statistics recorded an increase in the national unemployment rate from 23.1% in 2018 to 33.3% in 2020.

In the report, KPMG projected that Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) would continue to grow at a relatively slow pace of three percent in 2023, citing slowdown in economic activity that typically characterizes periods of political transition in Nigeria.

Per the firm, the spillover from an expected slowdown in the global economy and its trade and financial flows implications are likely to drag on the country’s GDP. It added that key non-oil sectors such as manufacturing, trade, accommodation, food services and transportation would be negatively affected by the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), further slowing down overall GDP growth in 2023.

“Nevertheless, we expect telecommunications, trade services, as well as an expected recovery in the oil sector, on account of measures being taken to tackle security issues, to drive our forecast of 3% growth in 2023,” the firm said.

Nigeria’s economic trajectory has significantly shifted amid decline in oil revenue, forcing the government to introduce a new tax regime as a way of augmenting revenue generation from the non-oil sector – which has served as the country’s economic cash-cow as the oil sector took a downturn.

In addition to slow economic growth, the government is grappling with the burden of fuel subsidy payments, which it has in recent times, been borrowing to upset. Though the federal government has set a mid 2023 timeline for the total removal of the subsidy, there is no clear path to it.

The fuel subsidy gulps a significant percent of Nigeria’s annual budget. While its removal in June will save the government a whopping amount of money, it will likely result in social-economic unrest.

KPMG projected that the incoming administration would face a deeply rooted challenging environment characterized by fragile and slow economic growth and challenges in the foreign exchange market. It added that government revenue remained inadequate to support much needed expenditure, leading to a high debt stock and high debt service payments.

Nigerian-based ride-sharing startup, Shuttlers, has raised $4 million in its latest funding round to expand its services, building on the growth it has recorded so far.

The round was led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV). Participating investors include VestedWorld, SheEquity, CMC 21 & Alsa, and EchoVC. This latest investment brings Shuttlers’ total funding to $5.6 million after it previously secured $1.6 million in seed funding.

“We are thrilled to have Verrod Kepple, Vested Word, CMC 21 & Alsa, and SheEquity as partners in our mission to transform passenger transportation in Nigeria. This additional funding will allow us to build the infrastructure we need to power mass transit and expand our reach to more communities in Nigeria,” Shuttlers’ co-founder and CEO, Damilola Olokesusi, said about the new funding.

The lead investor, VKAV, disclosed that it has so far raised $43 million in its ongoing African-focused venture fundraising campaign, adding that it has invested in some startups in the continent, including Shuttlers.

The mobility startup said in addition to its plan to use the funding to build infrastructure to support its mass transit business, it also plans to expand its market share to compete in the growing ride-sharing market in Africa, where players like Treepz, which recently raised $1.2 million and expanded operations to Kenya, are building massive customer-base. The startup also plans to hire more personnel in sales, marketing, and customer support departments.

Shuttlers provides bus-sharing services for professionals, and has seen its business grow in two Nigerian major cities – Lagos and Abuja – since it was launched in 2016.

The startup said it serves over 80 corporate clients using its 260 buses across 300 routes in Lagos and Abuja every day. Its clients include Interswitch, MainOne, and Paga. Shuttlers said it has more than 70,000 users who have taken a ride on its platform, and has recorded 3 million trips, selling more than 9,000 tickets to both individuals and corporate organizations, according to information on its website.

VKAV’s Managing Partner, Ory Okolloh, said that the firm is thrilled to support Shuttlers in its mission to provide safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to Nigerians.

“We are excited to support Shuttlers in their mission to provide safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to Nigerians,” said Ory Okolloh. “Their commitment to creating impact aligns with our vision for investing in companies that impact society positively. We look forward to working closely with Shuttlers to help them achieve their goals.”

Similarly, Nneka Eze, General Partner at VestedWorld, believes that Shuttlers has the potential to transform the way people move around the world. She said that “the investment firm is proud to be a continued partner in Shuttlers’ journey.”

As Africa transmutes into data-driven societies with people, firms and  nations in interdependent relationships, unlocking the value in data will create competitive advantages.

Knowledge is the altar and data is the tool for the market sacrifice. Winning the markets will require business high priests who make sense of data. Until you get that, that sacrifice may fail before customers since your products and market needs may remain unaligned. The kingdom is the market share, and that happens at scale when product-market-fit is readily attained.

The data in companies is the wealth in companies. Build capabilities and refine your data. William Shakespeare put it  in the mouth of Hamlet, “words, words, words”. Today, the response to “Lord Polonius” is “data, data, data”.

The empires of the future will be refiners of Data. Like Pythagoras postulated during the Great Debate, the world is nothing but numbers. In market systems, to understand Demand and Supply, you essentially need to make sense of the numbers around demand and supply. Those numbers are the data of firms, markets, customers and all stakeholders.

Yes, DATA is the New Oil but can you refine it? You cannot be a 21st century category-king company if you cannot REFINE data. The blue-collar job of the 21st century is software but the gunpowder to conquer markets is data.

Chinua Achebe reminded us to “create your own story”. You need data to create your product story. The world is nothing but Data. Those who make sense of it will rule. Now, are you ready for the sacrifice with the right data-tool to appease the customers and win them over?