Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Sustainable Economic Development in Nigeria: Implications for Marketing Policies

Abstract

In emerging markets, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key enabler of economic diversification and sustainable development, but its possible impact on the marketing policy of Sub-Saharan Africa has not been theorised. This paper investigates the impact of AI on the economic landscape in Nigeria and its implications for the practice and policy of marketing in the country. The research approach used is a secondary source design, which involves document analysis, combining macroeconomic indicators from Nigeria's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the National Bureau of Statistics, International Finance Corporation, and PwC as well as the thematic review of ten empirical and conceptual studies on AI in Marketing in Nigeria published from 2023 to 2026. The study also reveals that Nigeria's ecosystem in AI is growing rapidly with an estimated growth rate of 27 per cent annually and a projected US$15bn impact on GDP by 2030, all while the country faces significant digital and welfare inequality. The thematic review reveals that in Nigeria, marketing research around AI is focused primarily on adoption of digital-marketing tools and personalisation, while there is comparatively less attention to issues of consumer behaviour and regulation that are sustainable. The paper asserts that the marketing-policy framework in Nigeria, including data-protection and consumer-protection tools, have not adequately followed the evolution of marketing practice using AI, resulting in governance gaps in the area of algorithmic bias, data extraction and digital exclusion. The study brings together a synthesis framework relating the macro levels AI development indicators to the micro levels of marketing practice and presents a policy roadmap to enable harmonization of AI-enabled marketing and Nigeria's sustainable development goals.