A new report conducted by Arion Research has shown that Nigerian businesses are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) at the highest rate globally.
The report, ‘The AI Privacy Equation: The Nigerian Model of Responsible AI Adoption,’ shows that 94 per cent of Nigerian organisations now have a dedicated privacy officer or team, well above global averages. Additionally, it said, 40 per cent of organisations allocate over 30 per cent of their IT budgets to privacy protection, signalling that strong governance is increasingly viewed as a competitive advantage rather than a barrier.
The report highlights how local businesses embed AI responsibly while maintaining robust governance standards.
Speaking during Zoholics Nigeria 2025 annual conference in Lagos recently, Kehinde Ogundare, Country head of Zoho Nigeria, disclosed that there will be 75 per cent customer growth in Nigeria in 2024, underscoring the country’s importance as one of its fastest-growing markets in Africa.
‘Nigerian businesses are leading the way in responsible AI adoption, tempering innovation with privacy safeguards. This mirrors our philosophy of building contextual, privacy-first AI models that drive tangible business benefits,’ he said.
The survey highlights Nigerian businesses balancing innovation with privacy. It gathered responses from 386 Nigerian organisations and found that 93 per cent have already begun their AI journey, with 31 per cent achieving advanced integration and 26.5 per cent implementing AI across multiple departments. More than half of the businesses surveyed have moved beyond experimentation to full operational deployment.
Meanwhile, 84 per cent of organisations reported strengthening privacy measures since adopting AI, with two-thirds describing the improvements as significant. Executive leadership is driving much of this momentum, as over half of the respondents were CEOs or senior executives, ensuring AI adoption is backed by strategic decision-making.
The financial services industry is at the forefront of AI deployment, accounting for 29 per cent of survey respondents, with key use cases including customer service automation (49 per cent), software development and enhancement (46 per cent), and marketing optimisation (32 per cent). Crucially, all these implementations adopt a privacy-by-design approach, embedding safeguards into every layer of innovation.
While AI adoption is accelerating, challenges remain. The report found that 37 per cent of businesses cited a lack of technical expertise as their biggest barrier, followed by privacy and security concerns (35 per cent). To bridge this gap, Nigerian organisations are investing heavily in skills development. 69 per cent are prioritising data analysis and interpretation, 53 per cent are building AI literacy, and 40 per cent are training staff in prompt engineering for generative AI tools.
This reflects a growing recognition that human capability development is as critical as technology acquisition in driving AI success.
Since the introduction of Nigeria’s Data Protection Act, 65 per cent of businesses report improved regulatory awareness, the report noted that companies are increasingly conducting privacy audits (57 per cent), adopting data minimisation practices (57 per cent), and requiring explainability in AI decision-making (52 per cent).
According to the CEO/chief analyst at Arion Research, Michael Fauscette, the Nigerian model challenges the belief that AI adoption compromises privacy. “When 84 per cent of organisations strengthen privacy through AI implementation, it proves that privacy-conscious design enhances, rather than limits, AI outcomes,” he said.
Consequently, Zoho’s expansion in Nigeria is being fueled by growing demand for scalable and unified business solutions.
