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Telecom sector attracts 24% of foreign investments – Minister

By on December 12, 2014

The Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson has said the country’s telecoms sector remains an investment destination point for foreign investors to take advantage of, having experienced strong growth in the last seven years, attracting about 24per cent of foreign direct investments (FDI).
Johnson disclosed this to foreign investors during the opening of the Nigeria Pavilion at the ongoing ITU Telecom World 2014 in Doha, Qatar.
The Minister who used the occasion to sell Nigeria’s broadband initiative in a bid to woo foreign investors, said Nigeria is an exciting, dynamic, and high octane growth market, with the highest population in Africa, which makes it more attractive to invest in.
“We are the most populous country in Africa and also the continent’s biggest economy. We have and are taking concrete steps to diversify our economy and are beginning to see the results in key non-oil sectors such as Agriculture, Power, Manufacturing and of course Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).” It therefore comes as no surprise that Nigeria remains one of the top three destinations for foreign direct investments (FDI) in Africa. In fact, Nigeria has attracted the most FDI capital and the second most FDI projects in Sub-saharan Africa, Johnson told the audience.
According to her, “The increasingly diversified nature of our economy is also reflected in the increasingly diversified nature of investments coming into the country. Considering the period from 2007 till 2013, more than 50 per cent of the FDI capital invested into Nigeria has been into the capital intensive resource sectors. However, nearly 50 per cent of FDI projects are service-oriented, and telecommunications has experienced particularly strong growth, attracting about 24 per cent of FDI projects.”
I ask that you use the space and opportunity that this Pavilion provides to speak with some of our investors and partners and operators such as MTN, Etisalat, and Airtel.  And also with our indigenous companies that are expanding both within the country and into regional markets, such as MainOne and Zinox. Also present are government agencies that can provide expert guidance and support your decision in investing in Nigeria, such as the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and of course the Ministry of Communication Technology, Johnson said.
Speaking on the planned investment summit forum that would be hosted by Nigeria in Qatar during the ITU Telecom World 2014 conference, the minister said it would provide an engaging platform to update the world on the status of the implementation of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan. The summit will highlight opportunities at both federal and state levels and will also pinpoint the immediate opportunities that exist with respect to the roll-out of broadband infrastructure at the metro-level and last-mile. The investment forum is also expected to provide an opportunity to explore investments in service sectors that rely and/or are influenced by communications infrastructure, such as financial services, consumer products and eCommerce, tourism and business services.

 

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