Global technology company Zoho unveiled new research showing that Nigerian businesses are setting a global benchmark in responsible artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
The study, titled The AI Privacy Equation: The Nigerian Model of Responsible AI Adoption, was conducted by Arion Research and highlights how Nigerian organisations are balancing innovation with robust privacy protection.
Zoho also announced a 75% customer growth in Nigeria in 2024, marking the country as one of its fastest-growing markets in Africa. This expansion is driven by rising demand for scalable, unified business solutions across sectors such as financial services, IT hardware, energy, manufacturing, education, and retail.
The top-performing products contributing to this growth include Zoho Workplace (email and collaboration suite), Zoho Books (accounting software), Zoho Campaigns (email and SMS marketing), and Zoho One (a suite of over 55 integrated business applications).
The research reveals that 93% of Nigerian organisations have already begun their AI journey, with over half moving beyond experimentation to operational deployment. Specifically, 31% have achieved advanced AI integration across their organisations, while 26.5% have implemented AI across multiple departments.
This widespread adoption is being driven by executive leadership, with more than half of the respondents occupying CEO or executive roles.
Privacy is a central theme in Nigeria’s AI strategy. Since implementing AI, 84% of organisations have strengthened their privacy measures, with 66% describing these improvements as significant.
An impressive 94% now have a dedicated privacy officer or team—well above global averages—and 40% allocate more than 30% of their IT budgets specifically to privacy protection. These figures reflect a belief that strong governance is not a constraint but a competitive advantage.
The financial sector is leading the way, representing 29% of survey respondents. Their top AI use cases include customer service automation (49%), software development and enhancement (46%), and marketing optimisation (32%), all implemented with privacy-by-design principles.
Despite the momentum, challenges remain. The lack of technical expertise is cited as the top barrier by 37% of businesses, followed closely by privacy and security concerns at 35%.
In response, Nigerian organisations are prioritising skills development. 69% are focused on data analysis and interpretation, 53% on AI literacy, and 40% are investing in prompt engineering skills for generative AI tools.
The report notes that Nigerian organisations understand AI success depends more on human capability than technology acquisition.
Regulatory awareness is also on the rise. Since the introduction of Nigeria’s Data Protection Act, 65% of organisations report increased regulatory consciousness. Companies are conducting regular privacy audits of AI systems (57%), implementing data minimisation practices for AI training (57%), and requiring explainability of AI decisions (52%). This proactive governance positions Nigerian businesses for both domestic compliance and international competitiveness.
According to Michael Fauscette, CEO and Chief Analyst at Arion Research, “The Nigerian model challenges the conventional wisdom that AI adoption requires privacy trade-offs. When 84% of organisations strengthen their privacy measures through AI implementation rather than weakening them, it demonstrates that privacy-conscious design can actually enhance AI outcomes.”
Zoho’s Country Head for Nigeria, Kehinde Ogundare, echoed this sentiment, stating, “Nigerian businesses are leading the way in responsible AI adoption, as they temper the new technology with privacy measures. This mirrors Zoho’s philosophy of building contextual and privacy-first AI models that help businesses realise tangible benefits.”
The findings present a uniquely Nigerian blueprint for responsible AI adoption—one that integrates executive leadership, privacy-first approaches, skills-focused development, customer-centric innovation, and regulatory readiness. By embedding these elements into their digital transformation strategies, Nigerian businesses are proving that AI innovation and privacy protection can advance together, creating trust and long-term competitive advantage.
