Digital skills for the informal sector: Training women in cybersecurity and data-driven business resilience
By Precious Ebere-Chinonso Obi
The promise of Educational Technology (EdTech) is that it lifts all boats, but in Nigeria, we are seeing the opposite. As outlined in recent analyses, EdTech often serves as a “Digital Divide Multiplier,” systematically benefiting the already privileged. This is most evident in the content being delivered, which frequently ignores the high-stakes reality of the informal sector the engine of employment for millions of Nigerian women.
For women entrepreneurs selling goods via WhatsApp, running local food kiosks, or managing micro-savings groups, transitioning to digital is not just about expanding market reach; it is about managing risk and sustaining growth. Yet, current digital literacy programs fall short, focusing on basic computer use while omitting two critical, high-value skills: Cybersecurity Hygiene and Data-Driven Business Resilience.
The cybersecurity gap: Protecting digital assets
As women micro-entrepreneurs increasingly use digital financial services (DFS), mobile money, and social media platforms to transact, their vulnerability to cyber fraud skyrockets. Their entire business, their inventory, customer list, and capital is often tied up in a single mobile device or app.
Training women to use sophisticated foreign software is irrelevant if they cannot protect their basic assets.
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We need programs that pivot from general digital literacy to specific, localized “digital security literacy,” teaching essential skills such as:
- Recognizing Phishing: Identifying fraudulent messages specific to Nigerian bank alerts or popular mobile money platforms.
- Strong Password Protocols: Understanding why using a family member’s name is dangerous, and implementing two-factor authentication.
- Securing Transaction Channels: Ensuring their WhatsApp Business accounts and mobile banking apps are locked down against unauthorized access.
Empowerment that creates a path to financial loss is not sustainable. Cybersecurity training must be treated as the foundation of digital economic inclusion.
Data-driven resilience: Moving beyond intuition
The “Content Trap” discussed in our analysis highlights that knowledge must translate into local value.
For an informal sector business, value is created through efficiency and informed decision-making.
Most women entrepreneurs manage inventory, sales, and credit using instinct or simple ledgers. The true economic benefit of digitalization is not just the speed of transaction, but the ability to gather and analyze business data.
Training women in Data-Driven Business Resilience means equipping them with basic, mobile-first data skills:
- Mobile Spreadsheet Mastery: Using simple apps (like Google Sheets on a phone) to track daily sales, cost of goods, and profit margins.
- Seasonal Forecasting: Analyzing past sales data to prepare for peak periods and mitigate slow seasons, improving resilience against shocks.
- Customer Segmentation: Using basic data to understand who is buying what, allowing for smarter inventory sourcing and targeted marketing efforts.
By replacing intuition with data, we provide women with the tools to formalize their operations, secure better loans (since they can prove income), and increase overall profitability. This is where EdTech truly begins to drive localized economic transformation, moving beyond generalized literacy toward measurable business growth.
A call for policy reorientation
Closing the economic inclusion gap requires a decisive policy pivot, as argued in the Canvas, where digital access is treated as a subsidized national utility. This reorientation must extend to content. We must stop counting the number of devices distributed and start measuring the number of entrepreneurs who can successfully track their cash flow, secure their digital wallet, and sustainably grow their business using these high-value, relevant digital skills.
