A new report by Moniepoint titled The 2024 Informal Economy Report has explained the intricacies of Nigeria's informal economy noting the regions with the most number of retail and trade businesses.
According to the report, Nigeria hosts approximately 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of which almost 90% are in the informal economy.
The informal economy refers to businesses typically described as untaxed and unregistered, nestled all around neighbourhoods and streets, including street vendors, petty goods traders, subsistence farmers, seasonal workers, domestic workers and industrial outworkers.
Despite its term as a "Shadow" economy, the impact and contribution of this part of the trade and retail business to the Nigerian economy is very significant.
5 Nigerian regions with the highest number of retail, trade businesses
The report which sought the opinions of hundreds of business owners with data analysed from over two million businesses across Nigeria revealed the top regions with the most retail and trade businesses.
These regions include:
1. South-West
The South-west region as noted in the report excluded Lagos state. The other states which include Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states accounted for 15.6% of the Nigerian informal economy.
Lagos alone made up 15.1% of the total informal economy and this put the whole southwest region top on the list accounting for 30.8% of the Nigerian informal sector.
2. South-South
The south-south region which comprises Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta and Edo states came next on the list accounting for 19.9% of the retail and trade businesses in Nigeria’s informal sector.
3. North-Central
The North-central region made up of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounted for 16.8% of the trade and retail businesses in the informal economy.
4. South-East
The South-East region which comprises just five states - Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi states accounted for 13.2% of the trade and retail businesses in Nigeria's informal economy.
5. North-West
The retail and trade businesses in the North-West states which include Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara States accounted for 12.8% of Nigeria's informal sector.
The North-East region was also represented. The retail and trade businesses in the states which include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe accounted for 6.6% of the informal economy.