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Nigeria's telecom sector to contribute 25 pct in GDP by 2025: official

Xinhua, November 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

An enabling environment would ensure that the telecom sector contribute 25 percent to the country's Gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, an official with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

The current contribution being estimated at 10 percent implied achieving additional 15 percent over the next 10 years, Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC said at the 2015 Nigeria Telecom Impact CEO Forum in Lagos on Friday.

Danbatta said the telecom regulator was desirous of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector contributing even more than 25 percent to GDP by 2025.

According to him, the target is by no means a very tall order given the competitive sectors of the economy, which is for the good of the nation in the long run.

The Nigerian official said it was well known that Nigeria's telecom sector was one of the fastest growing in the world.

He added that telecommunications was obviously leading as the aggregate Foreign Direct Investments from 2007 to 2013, which ranked it as a contributor of 24 percent of such projects.

The chairman told his audience that between 2011 and 2013, the telecommunications sector attracted about 6 billion U.S. dollars worth of investments which had accelerated ICT contributions to an estimated 10 percent.

According to him, in the ICT sector, it is all about investments and it can be investment in infrastructure, content, human capital, and supportive infrastructure availability, especially power as it relates to the sector.

He said the role of the telecom regulator was to continue to provide the type of environment that would continue to encourage investment and growth.

Danbatta said in the telecommunications sector, a lot of premium was being predicated on broadband availability in driving the nation's contributions to the GDP in the distant future.

He said a strategic plan was in place, and it projected achievement of 30 percent of broadband penetration by 2018.

The EVC said if this was achieved, it surely would fast track the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP.

According to him, broadband will energize the sector and the economy and most of the activities in the industry will be e-driven. Endit