Nigeria’s seven SWOOT giants — Seplat, Wema Bank, Oando, MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement, GTCO, and Zenith Bank — increased their software and digital-infrastructure spending significantly in the first nine months of 2025, signalling a deeper shift toward technology-driven operations despite economic pressures. New filings and financial disclosures show that the companies collectively poured billions of naira into software upgrades, cloud migration, cybersecurity reinforcements, and data-analytics infrastructure.
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Industry analysts say the spending rise reflects an urgent need for Nigerian corporates to modernize operations, protect digital assets, and sustain market competitiveness at a time when technology disruptions are forcing business models to evolve rapidly.
Breakdown of spending trends across key corporates
MTN Nigeria and GTCO recorded some of the largest jumps, driven by aggressive digital transformation plans, network expansions, and automation strategies across customer-facing and backend channels. Financial-services players continued to invest heavily in core-banking improvements, digital payments, and risk-management systems, while manufacturers such as Dangote Cement focused on software for production efficiency, cost optimisation, and energy-usage monitoring.
Seplat and Oando increased spending on data management systems, real-time operational monitoring, and analytics tools to improve output reliability and environmental compliance tracking.
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Why the surge matters for business competitiveness
The trend underscores the rising cost of doing business in a digital economy. With cybersecurity attacks growing more frequent, companies are being forced to prioritize protection of customer data, process automation, machine-learning systems, and remote-operation tools.
For SMEs, the spending patterns of SWOOT giants often set industry direction. As large corporates modernize, they create downstream demand for local tech vendors, software developers, cybersecurity experts, and cloud-service consultants — opening new market opportunities in Nigeria’s digital-services sector.
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Economists expect software spending to rise further in 2026 as companies push for leaner operations amid foreign-exchange pressure and rising operational costs. Technology is increasingly becoming the backbone of competitive advantage, making digital transformation no longer optional but essential.
