Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Canada, had visited Africa back in February this year. During that visit, organized by a Nigerian firm, Pertinence Group, the mayor had invited Nigerian and African businessmen, especially small business owners, to visit Brampton. Mrs Charmaine Williams, the first Black female councillor of Brampton, had accompanied Mr Brown during his trip, when he first met the governor of Lagos state, and then visited 300 young Nigerian entrepreneurs at an event.
The similarities between Nigeria and the city of Brampton, with both of them having a largely young population, were pointed out by Brown. He asserted that the city of Brampton would be honoured to have ties with Nigeria and to play some part in its economic success, and that Nigerian entrepreneurs would always be welcome in his city. This could represent a great opportunity for young Nigerian entrepreneurs, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also recently announced that he wishes to make Brampton one of the hubs for cybersecurity development in the country. This could create many opportunities for entrepreneurs in a city which has already fostered an ecosystem for tech-based startups.
When Justin Trudeau came to power in 2016, the government had devised a plan to develop Canada’s digital economy. It was under this plan that the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry published Canada’s Digital Charter in 2019. This document laid emphasis on equality, transparency and safety in the digital space, and stated that the aim for the country will be to ensure that those principles are maintained as digital technology advances in Canada. The charter would also ensure that every citizen was given equal access to these technologies.
The benefit that this charter has had in the development of digital industries in Canada can be seen in the example of the iGaming industry. It was one of the first to be recognized under the charter, which helped online gaming companies offer the best online live casino games to their customers. They were also able to incorporate the use of cryptocurrencies as payment and withdrawal methods on their websites, which made them even more popular. This was another step in the continuing development of Canada’s digital economy. These online casino sites have been offering all the traditional casino games such as blackjack, roulette and poker, along with sports betting options and slot games, which has made them even more attractive over the past few months, where lockdown rules have forced land-based casinos to be closed all over the country. The adoption of cryptocurrencies has helped these providers attract international customers as well, as they can now use crypto to make deposits and withdraw their winnings, without having to worry about currency exchange rates and the time it would take for foreign currency transactions to take place.
This is relevant for Nigeria as well, as the country has been suffering from a ‘brain drain’ over the last few years, where their best young workers have been leaving the country due to lack of opportunities. The tech industry remains hugely successful, with investments of hundreds of billions of dollars being made. Despite this, young software engineers are leaving the country, partly due to the lower salaries in Nigeria. The average salary in Nigeria for a tech employee is $3500 less than in South Africa, for example. There is little scope for growth either, with limited scope of the work being done as well. The potential partnership with the city of Brampton could help here, as Nigerian entrepreneurs could set up their companies in Canada and benefit from all the advantages that the Canadian economy offers them.
