As the world watches one of Africa’s largest economies stake its claim in the next internet era, the inaugural Nigeria Web3 Landscape Report signals the West African nation’s Web3 story is just beginning.
Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s leader in the Web3 space, contributing 4% of all new developers globally in 2024—more than any other country on the continent—according to the inaugural Nigeria Web3 Landscape Report by venture capital firm Hashed Emergent.
The study—based on interviews, platform data, and original research—also reveals that the West African nation Web3 founders have launched over 80 startups, collectively raising more than $130 million to date, with $20 million secured in 2024 alone. Most of this recent funding went to early-stage startups focused on blockchain infrastructure and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.
“Challenges like funding translates to limited scale. Compared to India’s $5 billion in web3 funding, Nigeria’s $130 million collective funding reflects a smaller ecosystem constrained by unclear regulatory climate and investor caution. Majority of Nigerian web3 startups cite funding access as a major issue,” Uchenna Edeoga, Platform Associate at Hashed Emergent and lead author of the report, tells FORBES AFRICA.
The growing influence in Web3 is rooted in the country’s long-standing engagement with crypto. “Nigeria’s leadership in crypto adoption positions startups to serve a ready domestic market while exporting solutions to other high-adoption regions like India or the U.S.,” says Edeoga.
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In 2024, the country ranked second globally in crypto adoption, according to Chainalysis, receiving $59 billion in crypto value—$24 billion of which came from stablecoins. What was once retail-focused adoption is now expanding into system-level applications: blockchain is being integrated into public services such as identity verification, education records, healthcare, and land registries.
“These are not pilot projects,” the report states. “They’re operational systems being deployed to improve transparency and trust in public infrastructure.”
Still, challenges persist. Many government systems lack the interoperability required for seamless blockchain integration. Institutional constraints—like limited digital capacity and fragmented procurement frameworks—threaten to slow the momentum.
The report highlights the role of Nigeria’s youthful population in driving this shift. Of the country’s 1.1 million developers, 86% of those active in Web3 are under the age of 27, with more than half joining the space in the past year. Most were onboarded through community-led initiatives like Web3bridge, Web3Ladies, and Solana and Base bootcamps.
But even as talent surges, employment remains fluid: only 15% of Nigerian Web3 developers are employed full-time in the sector. A majority work as freelancers, and 45% are paid in stablecoins, reflecting both a workaround to local currency volatility and the global nature of blockchain work. Despite high engagement, 90% of these developers earn below global benchmarks—a gap attributed to local market dynamics and persistent currency depreciation.
Unlike previous investment booms dominated by mega rounds, Web3 funding in Nigeria in 2024 skewed toward ecosystem grants and early-stage support from Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain protocols. Infrastructure startups raised $11 million, while financial services raised $7 million—more than triple the previous year’s total. By contrast, entertainment and gaming saw a sharp drop, falling from $17 million in 2023 to $2 million this year.
Yet interest remains high in sectors like SocialFi and NFTs, even as investors double down on foundational technologies. The report suggests that growing international exposure through bounty programs could help local startups gain traction.
Nigeria’s regulatory landscape is both evolving and uncertain.
In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned banks from handling crypto-related transactions—a move reversed in December 2023, when financial institutions were permitted to serve licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has since launched the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program (ARIP), granting temporary licenses and creating clearer onboarding pathways for startups. However, inconsistencies persist: in 2024, the Nigerian Communications Commission blocked access to Binance and Coinbase, even as the SEC approved local exchanges like Quidax.
A patchwork of oversight among regulators—the SEC, CBN, and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)—alongside unclear frameworks for DeFi, DAOs, and NFTs, continues to deter investors and complicate compliance.
“To sustain and accelerate Nigeria’s web3 ecosystem momentum, stakeholders can focus on strengthening developer pipelines. Expanding initiatives like developer bootcamps, hackathons and building an active developer community can further grow this base,” says Edeoga.
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