Nigerian companies are deepening investments in privacy protection as they scale up artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, with 40% of organisations dedicating more than 30% of their IT budgets to privacy.
This is according to a new report titled: The AI Privacy Equation: The Nigerian Model of Responsible AI Adoption conducted by Arion Research on behalf of Zoho
The study noted that this indicates a growing recognition among Nigerian businesses that strong governance is a source of competitive advantage.
“Nigerian businesses are not just adopting AI, they are embedding it responsibly. 94% of organisations now have a dedicated privacy officer or team, a figure well above global averages.
In fact, 40% of the organisations allocate more than 30% of their IT budgets specifically to privacy protection, reflecting the belief that strong governance is a competitive advantage rather than constraint,”they stated.
The financial sector is leading this transformation, making up 29% of the respondents in the survey. The sector’s top AI use cases include customer service automation (49%), software development and enhancement (46%), and marketing optimisation (32%). Each is being implemented with a strong emphasis on privacy principles.
The report also found that nearly 65% of organisations have increased their regulatory consciousness since the introduction of Nigeria’s Data Protection Act. Companies are adopting practices such as regular privacy audits of AI systems (57%), data minimisation in AI training (57%), and explainability requirements for AI decisions (52%).
The findings show that executive leadership is central to the rapid progress of AI in Nigeria. More than half of the respondents occupy CEO or executive roles, highlighting the top-level commitment to scaling AI adoption.
The report, which surveyed 386 respondents across Nigeria, found that 93% of organisations have already embarked on their AI journey. Of these, 31% have achieved advanced integration across the organisation, while 26.5% are implementing AI across multiple departments.
Michael Fauscette, CEO & Chief Analyst of Arion Research, noted that Nigeria’s AI adoption shows that privacy and innovation can go hand in hand, with 84% of firms improving privacy through AI.
“The Nigerian model challenges the conventional wisdom that AI adoption requires privacy trade-offs. When 84% of organisations strengthen their privacy measures through AI implementation rather than weakening them, it demonstrates that privacy-conscious design can actually enhance AI outcomes. Nigerian businesses are proving that robust governance isn’t a constraint on innovation, it’s a competitive advantage that builds customer trust and creates sustainable AI implementations,” Fauscette stated
The study highlighted that 84% of organisations report strengthening privacy measures since deploying AI, with 66% describing the improvements as significant. In addition, 94% of organisations now have a dedicated privacy officer or team, a figure that surpasses global averages.