Nigeria ICT

Nigeria’s start-up scene is expanding rapidly, securing the most seed funding of any country in Africa and attracting increased international support. 

A new mobile operator, ntel, commenced 4G LTE services in Lagos and Abuja in early April, increasing competition in the 170m-person telecoms market.

Online activity is on the rise in Nigeria, with internet subscriber numbers growing and digital transactions increasing, though uptake risks being slowed by gaps in infrastructure.

The completion of a recent spectrum auction in Nigeria represents a big step forward for the mobile broadband networks. However, given the challenges and costs of maintaining the infrastructure for high-speed access, there is increasing attention from both the public and private sector to reducing overheads and improving infrastructure efficiency.

While Nigeria has some way to go when it comes to developing local content and fostering start-ups in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, the government has shown a commitment to the sector through its far-reaching National Broadband Plan (NBP).

A government decision to enact long-awaited mobile number portability (MNP) regulations, together with infrastructure sharing, should go some way towards improving the quality of service in the Nigerian telecommunications market.