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Economic woes mean very few Nigerians are buying PCs

Shipments of PCs to Nigeria declined by 57.1% in 2016 according to the International Data Corporation, the lowest since the firm started tracking shipments in 2008.

This decline is fuelled by a number of factors namely Nigeria’s poor economic performance in 2016 coupled with a lack of demand for for new PCs.

Senior research analyst at the IDC, Babtunde Afolayan, says that the strength of the US dollar against Nigeria’s naira plays a crticial role in stymieing demand.

“The government excluded IT products from accessing foreign currencies at the interbank rate, pushing channel partners to obtain foreign currencies from the unofficial market, where rates are typically 40–50% higher,” says Afolayan.

Add to that tensions brought on my terrorist and militaristic events and you can start to understand why Nigerians simply aren’t fussed if their ageing PC gets a bit older.

Another factor that might be prevent PC shipments from growing is the price of a new PC.

“In cases where new purchases are being made, commercial end users are typically opting for cheaper models while consumers are increasingly opting for refurbished products,” the IDC analyst says.

Afolayan goes on to say that PCs in Nigeria are only brought in on a need-to-order basis and only once those orders have been paid in full.

Righting the ship(ment)

For the PC market to start recovering the Central Bank of Nigeria would need to include IT products for interbank rates when it comes to accessing foreign currencies, something the IDC says the bank is considering.

This combined with the governments continuous efforts to improve the country’s economic outlook would help to improve the market says the IDC.

“We anticipate a leveling off in 2017 as foreign exchange rates stabilize and IT decision makers begin to renew spending as most of their products will have passed the end of their lifespans. IDC forecasts that this relatively flat growth in 2017 will be followed by a much stronger year-on-year increase of 59.9% in 2018,” Afolayan concluded.

[Image – CC BY 2.0 Joseph McKinley]

 

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