This is according to figures released by Nairametrics, revealed that this growth was led by Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states, which recorded the highest IGR per population in the first half of 2021, as economic activity started to rebound following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The higher IGR recorded by some states is due to the presence of a larger taxable population in those states compared to other states with lower IGR. Therein lies an enormous pool of opportunity to establish a dependable database of taxable citizens, eliminate all sources of revenue leakages, and track revenue generation.

All these is achievable with the adoption of a centralized citizen data platform underpinned by a multi-channel digital citizen engagement framework.

According to the cable.ng, Nigeria has 41 million taxpayers but the revenue generation is still low. This should suggest to government that, in order to maintain an upward IGR trajectory, the best way to grow revenue is by engaging with taxable citizens to drive access to easier ways of doing business, while also finding ways to expand the country’s current tax base.

One of the main generators of State Government’s tax revenues, is through the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax, paid by workers across every state. Further revenue is also generated through taxes on utilities such as water, electricity, and others, as well as through licences and levies related to commercial activities such as the manufacturing and sale of goods.

Any innovation that facilitates the ease of collecting taxes will grow the State’s IGR positively.

The Challenge:

Presently, there is still a huge gap in the drive for collection of taxes, onboarding and engagement of new and existing tax payers. However, with low tax compliance rates recorded in various states, this continues to be a problem that threatens to dampen the government’s efforts to increase IGR through its tax base.

One of the reasons for Nigeria’s dismal tax compliance is the unstructured base of taxpayers found across its various regions and states. This is due to many workers being employed in the semi-formal & informal sector – such as sub-contractors, artisans, traders, semi-skilled and unskilled labourers – who are not registered on the government’s tax database and do not have a clear tax payment channel.

To address this, the government must look at how it is currently adding citizens to its tax base, which comes down to citizen engagement. This is one area in which the government has not been particularly successful; failing to convince potential taxpayers of the benefits of paying taxes or engaging current taxpayers on their journey to effectively demonstrate what they gain from paying taxes. Essentially, the government needs to effectively engage with citizens and treat them like customers.

“Middleman factor”

Additionally, tax collection is also hampered by the reliance on unstructured data, meaning that the government is often not leveraging the most effective payment systems to collect revenue. In many cases, the “middleman factor” – where fees and levies are collected by the government representatives – results in possible leakage through fraud and corruption.

Using a multiple digital channel communications (omnichannel) approach to taxpayers (citizens) engagement can be effective in overcoming these challenges, as it would allow the government to identify and segment its tax base into various strata.

An omnichannel communications framework allows for a 360-degree view of the citizen (or customer), providing insight into their behaviour, needs and preferences, by unifying all messaging with a potential citizen or customer across all available communication channels.

This would enable the government to roll out a segmented plan to target specific clusters of the population at a time – a more manageable approach than attempting to target the entire private sector at once.

Furthermore, an omnichannel communications framework would allow the government to not only forge a closer relationship with its citizens, but also to establish richer engagements over the citizens’ preferred channels, creating the overall citizen experience. At the same time, it would enable the government to cut out the middleman in revenue collection by introducing a direct payment system, customer notification, customer validation and a real time accountability structure that would ultimately and positively impact tax revenue.

Taxpayers from a Citizen-centric approach

Engaging with citizens is no longer about passing information to them as and when requested. To improve the citizen experience, the government should understand and leverage communication channels that people are comfortable with.

A citizen-centric approach calls for defining different stages in the citizen experience programme and tailoring the government services and payment systems to be comparable with the private sector structure.  

From experience in providing customer experience in the private sector, much could be gleaned by looking at the standards and pace set by the multi-channel engagement platform adoption in the sector.

The private sector approach has significantly revolutionized customer engagement to create value along the customer journey at scale and we believe government can adapt this approach to create an improved community engagement with the benefits of data consolidation & improved insights into citizens expectations.

Importantly, the government should also establish platforms for feedback and complaints that are available on a 24/7 basis.

Instead of shying away from criticism, the government should provide a fully-fledged multichannel engagement platform for citizens to call, text, chat email & engage on social media platforms while getting live feedback. A multiple digital channel communications framework can improve the experience of citizens across the various clusters of the government tax services. 

The benefits of providing a superior citizen experience for tax payments through a multiple   channel engagement approach includes a renewed public view of the government as anticipatory, responsive, and a model e-government centre that fosters seamless citizens engagement over their preferred communication channel for secure  messaging, verification, & generation of useful insights that informs decisions to launch  impactful futuristic projects.

Nigeria plays a very important role in the African region, with many trends from its private sector seeing widespread adoption among neighbouring countries.

Should Nigeria take the required steps to improve its citizens’ experience (especially for tax collection related services) through the adoption of a multichannel omnichannel communications framework, this would likely create a replication of these services in other parts of the region. Additionally, it would also lower the barriers of doing business in Nigeria and attract foreign investment with the potential of employment and growth opportunities.

The post Leveraging Digital Engagement Channels to Help Enhance Tax Compliance, IGR and Nigeria’s Citizen Experience appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The platform leverages artificial intelligence to deliver compliance infrastructure and tax-filing support, particularly for those navigating both traditional and digital asset markets, including cryptocurrency.

The launch comes at a strategic time as Nigeria’s new tax reform takes effect, creating demand for simplified compliance tools.

Tradepal AI offers real-time turnover tracking, deduction calculations, and tax exposure monitoring to ease the burden of tax reporting.

Founders Aim to Simplify Compliance

The company was co-founded by Femi Adegolu and Ambassador Adebiyi Ayoyinka, both prominent figures in Africa’s Web3 and fintech ecosystem.

Their vision is to reduce the stress associated with manual bookkeeping and audits by automating tax reporting for Over-the-Counter (OTC) traders and businesses.

Speaking on the launch, Adegolu emphasized the urgency of the solution:

“To be very honest, the informal sector and SMEs are not so prepared for this tax reform, and that’s why we’re here to help them. We foresaw this some months ago when Ambassador Adebiyi told me about the idea to build something that will help businesses, fintechs, and service providers become compliant and avoid tax penalties by the government.”

He added:

“Already, there’s a lot of news flying around about how crypto taxes should work. SMEs are scared, but people should not be. What we’ve built is plug-and-play. People can log their trades and access accurate data, record-keeping, transaction monitoring, and transparency. Tradepal AI will now be the tool that helps channel your narrative.”

Features Designed for Transparency

Ayoyinka highlighted the platform’s documentation and audit capabilities: “Tradepal AI ensures that your transactions are properly documented. It has an audit tray where you can review transactions weekly or monthly and print out records whenever you meet a tax officer.”

He further explained: “We have software features that allow you to grant login details to an auditor, enabling them to access your dashboard remotely while you monitor it from your own device.”

According to him, Tradepal AI helps users to gain SEC recognition even without building an exchange, because its an all round compliance tool.

Funding secures strategic growth

On January 1, 2026, Tradepal AI announced it had successfully raised $50,000 in pre-seed funding to scale its compliance solutions.

The company CEO, Deborah Ojengbede, stated that the investment positions it for strategic growth and expansion as Nigeria’s tax landscape evolves.

“Securing our $50,000 funding milestone not only signals confidence in Tradepal AI, but also validates the growing need for transparent, regulation-aligned operations across the digital assets sector.

“With Nigeria’s new tax reforms now in effect, enforcement is becoming more data-driven. For digital asset traders and businesses, compliance readiness is no longer optional,” she said.

According to her, Tradepal AI is building the compliance foundations needed to adapt to this shift, equipping individuals and businesses with the tools to proactively manage risk, and operate with confidence in a rapidly evolving environment.

The post Tradepal AI Launches in Nigeria to Simplify Tax Compliance for SMEs, Crypto Traders appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The FIRS launched the MBS platform to combat tax evasion, improve transaction transparency, and boost revenue collection.

Serving as the central hub for real-time or near-real-time invoice validation, the platform captures essential transaction details, from buyer and supplier information to quantities, prices, and taxes, replacing paper or traditional electronic documents such as invoices, credit notes, and debit notes.

With this development, Interswitch Group is now supporting the roll-out of ambitious national e-invoicing network projects across Nigeria and Kenya, two of the continent’s largest economies, following Interswitch’s selection by the Kenya Revenue Authority in 2024 as a technology partner, providing solutions for businesses to comply with the eTIMS requirements, including hardware and software.

The FIRSMBS initiative in Nigeria went live on August 1, 2025, starting with large taxpayers with annual turnover above ₦5 billion, after a pilot phase that began in November 2024.

Following industry feedback, the FIRS extended the onboarding deadline to November 1, 2025, to allow businesses more time for integration and testing.

Following this accreditation, Interswitch will provide a fully compliant e-invoicing solution that connects directly and securely to the FIRS platform, helping businesses meet regulatory requirements while modernizing their financial operations.

The solution supports both corporates and SMEs, enabling them to automate invoicing workflows, reduce manual errors, and access real-time reporting for faster, more accurate tax submissions.

Highlighting the significance of the recognition, Muyiwa Asagba, Managing Director for Commercial Inclusion (Interswitch Inclusio) at Interswitch Group, said the accreditation underscores the company’s mission to equip businesses with tools that deliver both compliance and operational value.

He said:

 “We are pleased to be recognised by FIRS as a trusted Access Point Provider. This accreditation reaffirms Interswitch’s commitment to delivering innovative, business-centric solutions that not only meet compliance requirements but also create operational value for our customers. Our e-invoicing solution has been built to integrate seamlessly with existing enterprise systems, ensuring security, accuracy, and efficiency at every step.”

“The e-invoicing directive is not just about compliance, it is an opportunity for Nigerian businesses to modernize their operations, enhance transparency, and embrace efficiency. We are here to make that transition seamless.”

With this milestone, Interswitch is cementing its role as a trusted technology partner to Nigerian businesses navigating a new era of tax compliance.

Backed by enterprise-grade security architecture, the Interswitch e-invoicing platform safeguards sensitive financial data while ensuring a smooth onboarding experience to the FIRS system.

By combining innovation, security, and deep market expertise, the company is enabling organizations to not only comply with the mandate but also unlock greater efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness in an increasingly digital economy.

The post Interswitch Named FIRS Access Point Provider for Mandatory e-Invoicing appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

To make matters worse, regardless of whether it’s a startup, scale-up, or enterprise company, compliance only gets more complex the more customers and sales a business attracts across state lines. 

Helping businesses overcome this challenge, fintech startup Kintsugi AI announced today a $6m funding round (at $40m valuation) for its tax automation platform.

The series A funding round at Kintsugi AI was led by Link Ventures with participation from Venture Highway, KyberKnight, Plug and Play and DeVC along with a lineup of notable angel investors. 

The team will use the fresh funds to drive Kintsugi AI’s development of automated VAT solutions for Canada and Europe, supporting customers selling internationally.

“We are hyper-focused on helping more than 27M ecommerce and SaaS businesses worldwide save time and money by putting their sales tax on autopilot,” said Pujun Bhatnagar, CEO and co-founder of Kintsugi AI. 

“Tax complexity is only increasing, and without the right tools, manual processes will inevitably fail to scale. That’s where Kintsugi comes in.”

Kintsugi was founded by Stanford graduate and former Facebook machine learning engineer Pujun Bhatnagar, ex-Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs analyst Barkin Doganay, and previous Atlassian executive and MonetizeNow CTO Jeff Gibson. 

The trio launched Kintsugi in 2021 in the aftermath of a landmark taxation case at the Supreme Court in 2018 that allowed states to require remote sellers to collect and remit sales tax. 

Due to the lack of uniformity in sales tax laws across states, the ruling amplified the complexity of an already fragmented sales tax regime. 

Manually navigating this web of tax regulations can be tedious, confusing and costly for businesses who run across multiple states, with non-compliance attracting penalties of up to 25% of the tax amount.

Kintsugi AI aims to tackle this by automating sales tax compliance with its comprehensive platform, covering real time nexus monitoring, AI-enabled product categorization, rooftop-level tax calculation and validation, sales tax registration, filing, exemption certificates handling, and back-tax compliance. 

At its core, Kintsugi verifies each transaction through its real-time database of rules, tracks economic nexus on a real-time basis, identifies the appropriate tax rates for invoicing, and at the end of the month helps with one-click remittance and filing sales tax returns in each applicable state. 

Powering this is an LLM which Kintsugi has built and trained across all sales tax regulations across 110,000 jurisdictions. 

“Kintsugi addresses a real need; 48 percent of states rely on sales tax for a major source of revenue. Sales tax is defined and collected on a city, county and state level and performing this task manually takes hours, as does keeping track of ever-changing laws,” said Lisa Dolan, Managing Partner, Link Ventures.

“Kintsugi uses AI to make compliance fast and painless and then automates the process so companies can focus on their businesses instead of tax paperwork.”

“There are other companies that offer sales tax compliance solutions; Kintsugi’s single SaaS fee model and hands-off software management set it apart,” added Pujun Bhatnagar. 

“We’re the solution that tracks, monitors, and automates sales tax compliance end-to-end, allowing businesses to get back to serving their customers. Legacy vendors have stopped innovating in this space, and many competitors are focused only on SaaS or E-commerce, missing key aspects of handling both seamlessly.”

Looking ahead, Kintsugi is planning on further strengthening its platform and team to put sales tax on autopilot for every company, no matter where in the world they operate. 

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