Nigeria's gig economy has ballooned to $5.17 billion, with ride-hailing alone drawing 24 per cent of the country's digital workforce, according to a report released by Bolt on Tuesday in Lagos. Teddy Appa-Dankyi, Bolt's Senior General Manager for West Africa, said Ipsos conducted the study and found that 92 per cent of employed Nigerians earn outside formal wage structures, pushing many to platforms like Bolt for flexible income. Nearly 60 per cent of ride-hailing drivers stay active for over a year, while 64 per cent of gig workers told researchers their living standards had "significantly improved" since joining the platforms. Youth unemployment, pegged at 5.05 per cent against a national average of 2.99 per cent, is driving younger Nigerians to combine app-based driving with schooling or side hustles. The sector now contributes 2.8 per cent to GDP, yet women remain only three to four per cent of ride-hailing participants. Weyinmi Aghadiuno, Bolt's Head of Regulatory and Policy for Africa, urged government support for local vehicle assembly, cheaper spare parts and dedicated maintenance hubs to keep drivers on the road.
Bolt's own data admits that barely one in twenty ride-hailing drivers is a woman, exposing how the much-touted "flexibility" still hinges on owning a car and braving late-night risks that society quietly codes as male.
The $5.17 billion headline sounds impressive, but it hides a sobering reality: the same platforms now propping up 2.8 per cent of GDP are essentially subsidising Nigeria's failure to create formal jobs, turning cars into safety nets.
For the average Nigerian, this means the family sedan has become the new pension plan; when fuel prices jump or a bumper gets bashed, household budgets crash because there is no employer to share the cost.
In broader terms, Lagos roads are becoming a rolling labour exchange where under-employed graduates and laid-off bankers queue behind one another at fuel stations, all trading dignity for daily earnings that could vanish with the next policy tweak on petrol subsidies or traffic bans.
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