Renowned accounting, and financial advisory servicing firm, PwC Nigeria, stated in it’s latest research report that programmers and software developers in Nigeria could attract up to $50 billion from Global Value Chains (GVCs) in the next 10 years through remote work. It also disclosed countries like India, Kenya, and a few others are already exporting brain capital from Nigeria and actively participating in the GVCs.
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PwC in a report titled: “Nigerian Brain Exports: The Optimal Path to Growing the Nigerian Economy” noted that exporting brain capital to the global market will put Nigeria on the path to becoming a developed nation in record time.
Also the report noted that, “brain export occurs when a Nigerian physically in Nigeria is inserted into global value chains and exchanges their brain capital for foreign currency which is then remitted to the country where the talent is physically located.” It added that with a large population that has an average age of 19 years, Nigeria has a significant brain capital advantage, especially considering the aging population in countries such as Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United States.
Future projection of the worldwide working-age population will see a 10% decline by 2060 according to estimated reports. Japan in particular tops this list with 28% of its population above 65 and Italy comes second with 23%. PwC noted that, in contrast, only 2.7% of the Nigerian population is above 65 which means Nigeria is strategically positioned to supply labour to the global market, thus presenting a strong comparative advantage.
Summarily, the report pointed out that: “With case studies of India and Kenya and a few local examples of companies already exporting Brain Capital from Nigeria and actively participating in the GVC’s, the report created a plausible scenario in which Nigeria captures 17% of the global programming and software development jobs. The earnings that will accrue to Nigerians performing these jobs is about $50 billion.
“Based on the market size and the growth potential, Nigeria should have a target of two million remote workers inserted into GVCs within ten years. This number the report reckons would drive growth in other sectors of the economy through the increased purchasing power of the people inserted into the GVC. According to the report, it is essential that the talent plugged into GVCs are not in a few selected locations but adequately distributed across the country to ensure prosperity for the nation.” the report, Partner & Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Andrew Nevin, said: “Nigeria can transition from a developing to a developed nation within 10 to 20 years. To achieve this however, the country must seek and follow a path different from the traditional development path. We believe that the traditional strategy for development is not the most efficient path to improve the quality of life for Nigerians.
“Given the times we live in, with advancements in research with technology and changes in the ways of working, there is a new optimal development path, one that is strengthened by changing circumstances and Nigeria’s unique assets and attributes. That path is one where Nigeria exports Brain Capital into higher value-added global services markets.”
The report opines that Nigeria needs to start treating education as an infrastructure for development, not a social service, especially digital education, as screen-based interactions have become as fundamental as reading and writing.
