Nigeria Targets 22% ICT Contribution to GDP by 2027

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria plans to increase the net contribution of the telecommunications sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) by 22 per cent by the end of 2027.

This is part of efforts announced by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, in the ministry’s 31-page Strategic Blueprint document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, seen by Business Post.

In the document, the ministry noted that “As telecommunications continues to evolve in line with new technology and associated opportunities, it is critical to revamp our national approach to account for changing imperatives and to situate broadband development at the core of our national policy for the next 20 years.”

According to the recent GDP figure for the second quarter of the year, Nigeria’s economy grew by 2.51 per cent year-on-year in real terms. This is 0.2 per cent points higher than the 2.31 per cent recorded in the previous quarter (first quarter of 2023).

The data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the information and communication technology (ICT) sector contributed 19.54 per cent to Nigeria’s real  GDP.

This positions it directly behind the agriculture sector, which was the highest contributor during that period, contributing about 21.1 per cent and almost 4x that of the oil sector (5.34 per cent).

According to the NBS, the ICT sector recorded an 18.44 per cent year-on-year growth and a 17.47 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth.

The ministry is also seeking to increase investment into Nigeria’s telecommunications sector by 15 per cent year-on-year and reduce the gap of unconnected Nigerians in rural areas from 61 per cent to less than 20 per cent by the target year of 2027.

In terms of work, the ministry is seeking to increase tech workers with a plan to train three million technical talents and prioritise job placement by the end of 2027, and increase funding for startups by $5 billion.

Equally, the document noted that the federal government is seeking to increase the annual net revenue of the telecommunications sector to the federal government by 100 per cent in the next four years and expand the level of digital literacy of the Nigerian population to 70 per cent by the end of 2027.