Liudmila N. Kalinichenko

Zinaida S. Novikova

• Occupation: Senior Research Fellow, Institute for African Studies RAS
• Affiliation: Institute for African Studies RAS
  
• Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Nigeria has large capacity for knowledge economy development based on new technology implementation getting possible as a result of close cooperation between scientific research and educational institutes, developers, entrepreneurs, venture investors in the form of public-private partnership. The paper researches the main directions of the government’s innovation policy and the progress  reached  in  this  field.  Nowadays,  there  are  several  innovation  programmes,  aimed  at  Sustainable  Development  Goals achievement. The development of renewable energy, food and ecological security, water cleaning, combating desertification are among them. The accent is made on the necessity to create Nigerian own technologies and support young generation of developers. High level of investment in human capital and the formation of effective technological ecosystem are important strategy objectives for  the  nearest  future.  The  article  considers  the  expansion  of  contemporary  options  for  business  structures  in  Nigeria  such  as startups,  technological  hubs,  clusters.  This  strategy  is  being  realized  due  to  fast  digital  technology  growth. Nigeria  is  one  of  the leading  IT-markets  in  Africa.  Information-communication  technologies  (ICT)  have  become  a  strategic  tool  for  democratic governance. They have considerable impact оn different sectors of the Nigerian economy. Liberalization of information market services has promoted its fast growth and accessibility for wide community. Digital technologies provide effective integration with the global economy. Still, there are a lot of challenges on the way to progressive digital economy development, including difficulties with  projects  financial  provision,  low  quality  of  institutional  environment,  unsatisfactory  infrastructure  conditions,  competent workforce shortage.