ICT

Nigeria’s ICT sector has faced several challenging years, with rapid currency depreciation and a macroeconomic slowdown weighing on profitability. However the sector remains a critical non-oil growth driver and major contributor to the economy, supported by a sizeable young population and the rapid adoption of mobile internet services. Dominated by four large mobile operators, the telecoms industry remains on a steady growth trajectory, as rising smartphone penetration and investment in mobile internet networks supports a shift towards data-driven growth models. In the IT sector government efforts to boost broadband penetration have begun to gather steam, although the country will face a number of challenges in achieving its ambitious mid-term expansion targets owing to issues in deploying new fibre-optic infrastructure. This chapter contains an interview with Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-chairman and CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission.