NITDA to launch digital trustmark to combat online fraud, boost confidence
By Matthew Denis
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has concluded plans to launch the National Digital Trustmark on October 17, 2025, as a major initiative to curb scammers and fraudulent activities within Nigeria’s online business landscape.
The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed the launch date during a press conference in Abuja.
The Digital Trustmark is conceived as a symbol of assurance in Nigeria's digital space, intended to instill confidence in e-government, e-business, e-transactions, and other online services. The Trustmark will be awarded to online entities that adhere to stringent guidelines and a code of conduct, thereby ensuring a secure digital environment.
Mr. Abdullahi highlighted that the digital economy has been Nigeria's fastest-growing sector for nearly five years, now surpassing oil and gas in its contribution to the GDP. With the service sector contributing over 58% of the GDP, and almost all services powered by digital technology, the potential is vast.
He noted that the Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijjani, has set a target to increase this contribution to 21% by 2027.
However, the DG warned that digital technology is a double-edged sword, where bad actors exploit the system to cause harm. This has led to a lack of trust and confidence in online platforms, discouraging both domestic and international transactions, and contributing to a negative global perception of Nigerians as scammers.
To address these complex challenges, NITDA partnered with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and GIZ.
Abdullahi stressed that this is a collaborative, public-private effort aligned with President Bola Tinubu's push for bold reforms and the Renewed HOPE initiative to build trust.
The Nigerian Digital Trust Mark initiative is designed to co-designed and co-created to allow citizens to easily differentiate between clone, fake websites from authentic, original websites.
"With this trust mark, we should be able to identify which one is actually an authentic website and which one is clone, which one is fake and so on," Abdullahi explained.
The process for issuing the seal will be thorough, involving both manual and online verification, including checks with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols to confirm the entity's authenticity. The seal will also be verifiable via scanning to prevent it from being cloned.
Alhaji Jani Ibrahim, President of NACCIMA represented by Sulaiman Adoga Ibrahim, underscored that a secure and transparent online environment is essential for inspiring confidence among customers, businesses, and investors.
He stressed that the project opens new opportunities for MSMEs and larger enterprises to drive competitiveness and sustainable growth.
Barr. Chinda Albert, GIZ Consultant, stated that their support aims to shape Nigeria's global reputation.
He noted that the e-commerce sector in Nigeria, valued at about $13 billion USD in 2024, only represents about 0.055% of the $27 trillion global market, largely due to a trust deficit.
He cited statistics showing that about 70% of Nigerians refuse to transact digitally due to fears of fraud, such as the what I ordered versus what I received or I got nothing scenarios.
Barr. Albert commended the project's remarkable momentum, noting that the initiative fully commenced in August and is already heading for a launch in October.
He concluded that the Trustmark is not only set to improve Nigeria's reputation but is also in alignment with the African Continental Digital Agreement and will enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian MSMEs regionally and globally