The Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) is set to unveil a digital licensing regime, effective second quarter of 2025, to streamline logistics operations and enhance efficiency in the sector.
The Postmaster-General of NIPOST, Ms Tola Odeyemi, said this during a stakeholders’ forum on accelerating E-commerce through digital and physical infrastructure integration in Lagos on Wednesday.
According to her, the digital licensing regime will also allow applicants to track and know the status of their licenses, as well as get digital certificates.
“We are migrating from an analogue to a digital licensing process that should be ready second quarter of this year, this will allow people to track and know the status of their licenses.
“It will also allow them to get digital certificates as their license and for those who want the physical ones, we will provide it also,” she said.
In his welcome address, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said that e-commerce held a central place in the global economy, and Nigeria.
Tijani, who was represented by the NIPOST Postmaster-General, noted that realising this potential required a comprehensive approach to addressing the logistical and infrastructural challenges that hinder the seamless movement of goods and services, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
To solve the challenge, the minister said that there was a need to integrate NIPOST offices into all digital platforms to improve the logistics network across the country.
According to him, NIPOST with over 1,000 post offices across the country was currently being under-utilised.
He noted that it was necessary to leverage the assets to support logistics and delivery, while integrating them with digital platforms to offer a transformative opportunity to create a nationwide logistics network.
“This network will make e-commerce accessible across Nigeria’s 36 states, significantly boosting inclusion and accessibility in underserved regions.
“This integration will provide a critical boost to the e-commerce ecosystem, lowering barriers to entry, enhancing logistics capabilities, and expanding market access for businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“By strengthening this foundation, we ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy thrives not just locally, but also contributes to advancing intra-African trade under AfCFTA’s Digital Trade Protocols,” Tijani said.
Speaking on the infrastructure challenge in the country, the General Manager, Glovo Nigeria, Lamide Akinola, said the company had been leveraging technology in different areas including route optimisation and addressing.
She noted that the challenge of payments was already being addressed with the growing adoption of e-payments and digital payments.
“The infrastructure challenges are being addressed, even on the regulator’s side and our side as well, and I think we are getting there and seeing progress,” Akinola said.
