Tech For Everyone: Top 5 Digital Skills to Grow Your Income 

According to Statista, a leading provider of market data, “in 2017, Nigeria had 97.2 million internet users. This implies that 43 per cent of Nigeria’s population have access to the internet and is set to reach 59.92 per cent in 2026.”

Due to the growing internet penetration and the resulting growth in the number of online shoppers, the e-commerce industry has since flourished with food, fashion, and beauty taking the lead.

Food and personal care products experienced the largest growth among the different categories. Compared to the previous year, online sales of food and personal items increased by roughly 60 per cent. The fashion and beauty category was the second-fastest-growing online industry growing at 44 per cent. This growth translated to over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in sales.

As the e-commerce industry continues to blossom, there is a boom in the skills required to maintain the ecosystem. Here are the top 5 skills you can learn to take advantage of the vast opportunities technology possesses.

Digital Marketing

In simple terms, Digital Marketing refers to the use of digital channels to market products and services in order to reach consumers. It involves the use of websites, mobile devices, email, social media, search engines, and other similar channels to promote goods and services. With the advent of the internet in the 1990s, Digital Marketing became popular with marketing professionals. The industry is expected to grow to USD 264.15 billion by 2030.

There are several free digital marketing certifications and courses on the internet. The most recognised ones include courses from technology giants such as Facebook, Google, HubSpot and so on.

 Copywriting

Copywriting is a subset of the broader field of Digital Marketing. It involves writing clear and concise text for ads, marketing materials, and websites, for virtually any audience and any industry.

All of the ads you experience on billboards, social media and so on are created by Copywriters. Design, content marketing, SEO, and growth hacking are all parts of a complete digital marketing plan, but copywriting is the glue that ties it all together.

Entry-level Copywriters in Nigeria make between 100,000 and 200,000 Naira monthly.

 Product Management

Product managers are often touted as the CEOs of digital products. They ensure the product goes from ideation and concept to scaling to millions of users. Every project manager must have some basic project management skills, a thorough understanding of the software development process and a business domain, communication skills, business analysis, marketing basics, and other skills.

Certification courses from AIPMM, Google and Product School are good starting points for budding product managers. Other free courses can be found on Udemy, Coursera and others.

Software Development/Programming

Since the global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, organizations have been forced to migrate to remote working and develop or revamp their digital infrastructure. This has led to an increase in Software development jobs. Learning popular coding languages like Java, JavaScript, Python, PHP, and C++ can boost your skillset and enhance your resume. Some of the jobs available to programmers include Mobile app developer, Software engineer, Web developer and so on.

This is the most lucrative of tech skills available. Entry-level software development roles start from 350,000 Naira monthly and run into the millions for mid to senior-level developers.

UI/UX Design

User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) are two different fields but are often referred to as one. User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-users interaction with a company, such as its services and products. The user interface is where the human-machine interaction occurs. Often, Graphic Designers are employed to take on UI roles. Some skills required to succeed as a UI/UX designer include Prototyping, Wireframing, User flows, Mockups, Visual design and design software, User research and usability testing and so on.

You can learn UI/UX design from top UX design certification programs such as the Google UX design professional certificate. UI/UX designers earn upwards of 300,000 Naira in Nigeria

Abdulkareem Oladipo is a marketing professional with experience across industries including Fintech, Investment, and Professional Services.