The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has urged global telecom companies and potential investors to take advantage of the opportunities availed by Nigeria’s population of over 200 million people to invest in the nation’s telecom sector, especially in infrastructure provisioning for broadband.
Danbatta, who made the appeal at the inaugural edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2023, which ended in Marrakesh, Morocco recently, said that Nigeria presented a stable political and economic environment for telecom and other investors for profitable operations on a sustainable basis.
The EVC, who was represented at the summit by the Team Lead, Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS), Babagana Digima, said the Commission had the mandate to facilitate the development of the telecom industry in Nigeria, adding that one way through which this can be done is by attracting foreign investors that will further enhance the growth of the economy.
He told the global stakeholders at the event that the Nigerian government had been supportive of the telecom industry, which has achieved an upward growth with over 220 million active mobile voice subscriptions, over 150 million Internet subscriptions, and broadband penetration of 48% which still indicated that the country was yet to be fully connected.
On the plans to deepen Nigeria’s broadband penetration, Danbatta explained that the “national plan is to achieve 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025. We still have less than 50 per cent penetration. This means there is huge investment potential for investors. Nigeria’s telecom sector needs more investment in the area of infrastructure deployment.”
He noted that the telecom sector in Nigeria had become a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), quarter-on-quarter in the past years, driving the growth of the digital economy in the country.
According to him, the GITEX Global Summit availed Commission the opportunity “to showcase the NCC as a Nigerian brand, a foremost telecom regulator in Africa and beyond and to bring about the much-needed investment that will enhance development of the Nigerian telecom industry.”
The EVC maintained that Nigeria had abundant talents that can be tapped by investors to support their business operations “for ground-breaking global technological innovations and advancement in providing digital solutions.
“This event provides us with the platform to showcase some of the talents that we have discovered in Nigeria. The Commission has sponsored three indigenous start-ups that are at this event to display their solutions for prospective investors and partnerships”, Danbatta added.
At the event, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco, Mansur Bamalli, also confirmed the EVC’s stance on investment opportunities in the nation’s broadband infrastructure area and commended the Commission for its regulatory drives that had made Nigeria the next investment destination in Africa.
The GITEX Africa 2023 was the maiden edition of the GITEX Global Summit held in Africa and has the potential of becoming Africa’s most influential forum to accentuate the vast potential of the tech-driven digital economy.
The organizers intend to transform to an international platform for cutting-edge technology for all players from both public and private sectors.
