In a recent PWC report, Nigeria’s ICT sector remains the only dominant sector with a fast growth of 8.6%.
Amid the challenging economic landscape in the country due to macroeconomic headwinds, inflation, FX issues, and several others, the growth in the sector is attributed to the increase in consumption of data services and subscriber numbers.
According to the new Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the sector contributed 19.54 percent in the second quarter (Q2) higher than 18.44 percent in the same quarter of 2022.
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In August this year, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that telecommunications subscribers in Nigeria consumed a total of 518,381.89 terabytes of data in 2022. On a year-on-year basis, the growth sector rate increased by 10.72 percent in 2022, higher than the 7.28 reported in 2021.
Industry operators say the growth can be attributed to the increasing number of internet service subscribers, mobile service subscribers, and the growth in broadband penetration.
Executive secretary of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said the growth in the ICT sector is a result of the number of digital literacy in the economy, noting that many Nigerians have been empowered with digital knowledge, especially on broadband penetration.
“The industry has also increased its service in the rural area, this means that technology is gradually advancing to the low and untented environment in the economy”, he added.
Many factors are responsible for the growth of the ICT sector to Nigerian GDP, one of the major reasons is the steady awareness to move all services rendered by both the government and private sector online, this, however, leads to an increased usage of more data by the organization.
With the Central Bank of Nigeria on the quest to promote a cashless policy economy, more individuals and organisations are gradually embracing the use of USSD, mobile, internet banking, and many others, this also tends to improve the ICT sector.
Therefore, in order to meet the target set by the federal government to increase the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP via a five-year plan, all hands must be on deck where the government priorities of what is necessary to achieve the set goal by the end of the year 2025.
While the ICT sector is reported as one of the fastest-growing dominant sectors in Nigeria, several other sectors also showed great resilience and growth.
The financial and insurance sector recorded a growth rate of 26.8%, which is attributed to the rise in interest income, digital transactions, and forex revaluation gains.
Also, the transportation and storage sector in Nigeria experienced a significant contraction primarily due to the Federal Government’s removal of the PMS subsidy. This decision resulted in higher PMS prices, prompting many private car owners to opt for public transportation especially those with lower income to reduce their travel.
As a result, transportation fares for both local and inter-state journeys have risen, deterring many from commuting and impacting their personal and business activities.