Nigeria carves up huge ICT market but accounts for 29% internet usage
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria dominates Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Africa, carving out 82 per cent of the market, but accounts for a mere 29 per cent of internet usage despite its huge 206 million population.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman Umar Danbatta disclosed the data at the 10th and 11th combined convocation lecture of Fountain University, Osogbo, where he pitched the role of ICT in economic growth.
“Indeed, for over 10 years, ICT has consistently contributed more than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product [GDP] – the telecom sector alone contributed 12.45 per cent to GDP as at the fourth quarter of 2020,” he said.
Danbatta’s lecture was titled “Empowering the Nigerian youth through Information and Communication Technology”.
He reiterated that “Nigeria accounts for 82 per cent of Africa’s ICT market and 29 per cent of continental internet usage and sub-Saharan Africa [is] the fastest-growing region for ICT adoption.”
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ICT adoption
Danbatta said the government, “in its determination to ensure that the nation harness full benefits of ICT, instituted a broadband vision that will see Nigeria as a society of connected communities of high-speed broadband access and connectivity.”
The adoption of ICT is synonymous with empowerment since it transforms processes efficiently while acting as an enabler of effective operations in every sector of the economy, he added, as reported by The PUNCH.
According to him, the possibilities of ICT informed Abuja’s policy decisions to strengthen its adoption in building a digital economy, as expressed in
- the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, 2020-2030
- the Nigerian National Broadband Plan, 2020-2025 and
- other policies, guidelines and regulations derivative of NDEPS and NNBP.
“The envisioned society will deliver internet connectivity speed 10 megabits per second in rural areas and 25 Mbps in urban areas by 2025.
“Additionally, effective coverage will be available to at least 90 per cent of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per one gigabyte of data.”
