Nigeria Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in nigeria, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Information and Communications Technology
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Overview

The information and communications technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria remains a vital component of the country’s economy, contributing significantly to its GDP despite global economic challenges. Recent data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that in Q2 2024, ICT’s contribution to Nigeria’s real GDP hit 19.78 percent, showing an increase compared to the 19.54% recorded in the same period of the previous year. This growth underscores the ongoing demand for digital connectivity and communication infrastructure in the country, driven largely by telecommunications, broadcasting, and information services, which are essential to various sectors of the economy.

Nigeria remains Africa’s largest ICT market. Broadband subscriptions, facilitated by the rollout of 5G technology, have been steadily growing; by 2024, broadband penetration reached approximately 48 percent with over 119 million subscribers on high-speed networks. This trend is expected to continue as service providers, such as MTN, Airtel, and Mafab Communications, expand their 5G coverage, enhancing internet connectivity and accelerating digital transformation nationwide. The Sub-Saharan region, led by Nigeria, is also projected to experience a robust growth in mobile and internet penetration, with expectations of substantial subscriber additions over the next five years. This trend will likely support Nigeria’s digital economy, which has become increasingly important as businesses leverage digital platforms for operations, e-commerce, and financial transactions.

Nigeria’s telecommunications landscape has seen significant changes, especially with recent government policies and evolving market dynamics among the major players—MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile. As of Q3 2024, the total mobile subscriber count fell to approximately 154 million from 221 million which was recorded in Q3 of 2023. This is due to the government’s stringent enforcement of the SIM-NIN linkage policy. This move led to deactivation of unlinked SIMs, aiming to curb criminal activity by ensuring that every mobile line is linked to a verified National Identification Number (NIN) and registered only by individuals over 18. This policy change has reduced the subscriber base by over 30 percent. MTN remains the market leader, with Airtel closely following, while Globacom and 9Mobile trail. Additionally, the government has reinforced its commitment to making ICT a backbone for diversifying the economy. Efforts include promoting foreign partnerships with local ICT companies, supporting innovation hubs, and encouraging incubators to foster tech entrepreneurship and support sectors like education, healthcare, and agriculture.

Furthermore, with recent Government of Nigeria (GON) initiatives, there has been a push for more streamlined governance as well as an emphasis on cybersecurity and data protection, overseen by the new Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). These changes aim to create a cohesive framework that addresses overlaps and policy implementation challenges, fostering a robust digital economy in Nigeria. The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has overall responsibility for the ICT sector. The Ministry also has purview over three different agencies including the NCC as the regulator for the telecoms industry; the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) regulates the broadcast industry; and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is responsible for digital policy implementation.

The Nigerian government in November 2019 launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy toward opportunities that digital technologies provide and to diversify the economy away from dependence on the oil and gas sector. The program is based on eight-pillars for the acceleration of the Nigerian economy:

  • Developmental regulation
  • Digital literacy & skills
  • Solid infrastructure
  • Service infrastructure
  • Digital services development & promotion
  • Soft infrastructure
  • Digital society & emerging technologies
  • Indigenous content development & adoption

As part of measures to achieve this objective, the NCC rolled out the National Broadband Plan for 2020-2025. The Broadband Plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25 Mbps in urban areas, and 10 Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population by 2025.

In May 2024, Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy announced a new project to enhance the country’s broadband infrastructure with an extra 90,000 kilometers of fibre optic lines. This initiative intends to increase internet access and promote digital inclusion by connecting underprivileged areas, schools, hospitals, and government offices across the country and is a priority project for the GON. There is an excellent opportunity for U.S. fibre cable companies to be involved in this project.

Similarly, several Nigerian states are advancing efforts to develop thriving ICT ecosystems, aligning with the country’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy. Lagos, Nigeria’s largest market, has a vibrant ecosystem supported by initiatives like the Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and some international corporations including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Cisco, etc.  Ogun State has made progress with infrastructure initiatives like the Ogun Tech Hub, which is aimed to foster digital literacy and entrepreneurship. The Ekiti Knowledge Zone (EKZ) is an effort in Ekiti State, Nigeria, that aims to establish the region as an epicentre in digital innovation and the knowledge economy. The project is supported by a $80 million investment from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and funds from the Ekiti State government. Enugu, in the southeast, is investing in technology through partnerships with private sector as well as state-led digital projects. Edo State has also made substantial strides in this area too with a tier-III data centre recently launched as part of the state’s broader goal to create a modern, innovation-friendly business environment. These nationwide initiatives all aspire to create a tech-driven ecosystem that connects education, talent, research, and business.

Nigeria’s iDICE (Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises) program, which began in 2023, is another ambitious project designed at developing the country’s digital and creative industries by providing significant investment, training, and mentorship to young entrepreneurs. iDICE also contains a technical talent component - the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) scheme, which aims to train and employ three million young Nigerians in IT and tech-related sectors. The skilling program has been transformative through global partnerships with tech giants such as Google. Cisco, HP, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, Intel, and Nvidia.

Nigeria aspires to become one of the top economies in the world and the country recognizes ICT development and broadband access as critical requirements to achieve this vision. This ambition, however, remains far from being accomplished as several hurdles have encumbered broadband expansion and investment opportunities for the sector.  Some of the major challenges that have affected the sector include long delays in the processing of permits; multiple taxation regimes at federal, state, and local government levels; multiple regulatory bodies; damage to existing fiber infrastructure because of cable theft, road works and other operations; and right of way (ROW) charges implemented incongruously by several state governments. This typically leads to the high cost of leasing transmission infrastructure. 

Following criticisms and outcry by several stakeholders, the federal government has been pushing for the states to review ROW charges as part of promoting ease of doing business and attracting more investment. Currently, many states have started reviewing the charges above the federal-approved rate of $0.37 (145 naira) per linear meter. Some states are providing zero cost for laying broadband or any other telecommunications infrastructures to boost digital infrastructure rollout outside of urban areas.

Following the rapid growth and progress in the country’s ICT landscape, Nigeria’s international connectivity improved from a single submarine cable system with 340 GB total capacity installed in 2001 to a total of eight cable systems with a combined overall capacity of over 40 terabits (although Meta’s 2Africa cable has a design capacity up to 180 terabits alone).  However, much of this remains unutilized because of inadequate distribution infrastructure and channels to areas of need inland. However, the future looks promising for this segment in view of the country’s connection to global internet network largely supplied by these submarine cables. 

The Nigerian mobile network operator and owner of the GLO 1 submarine cable already launched a second submarine fiber cable – GLO 2. GLO2 is expected to have a capacity of 12 terabit per second and be the first submarine cable in Nigeria to land outside Lagos when completed. It is also intended to scale up for further expansion southwards, including to Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Angola. Meta’s 2 Africa cable, the largest subsea cable system in the world stretching over 27,000 miles will, upon completion, interconnect 33 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe; with 21 landings points in Africa, including two in Nigeria (Lagos and Akwa Ibom). 

Expected to go live in Q1 2025, Meta notes that the cable system will provide nearly three times the total network capacity of all the subsea cables serving Africa today, as well as support growth of 4G, 5G, and broadband access for hundreds of millions of people. In April 2022, Google landed its Equiano subsea cable in Nigeria. Google’s Equiano cable is expected to have nine branching units creating room for more international connectivity. In the Nigerian terminal point, it is expected to yield about 20 percent reduction in internet retail prices, a sixfold increase in internet speeds, and a 6 percent increase in internet penetration. 

U.S. multinationals are spearheading several other projects. U.S. firm Equinix acquired MainOne, which had been one of Nigeria’s major tier-III data centers, with footprints in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Corning recently collaborated with Nigerian cable manufacturer, Coleman Technical Industries Limited, for local manufacturing of fiber optic cables. Google recently expanded its language capabilities for voice search and translation in Africa, adding 15 new African languages, including 3 Nigerian languages - Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Cisco Systems is collaborating with the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) through the EDGE (Experience, Design, Go-To-Market, and Earn) initiative aimed at providing innovative learning environments for Nigerian enterprises to design and prototype tech solutions and improve digital literacy.

The growth of e-services and cloud computing has fueled the demand for data services, simultaneously creating the need for more reliable and high-quality broadband from service providers. The enterprise application software (EAS) market is currently dominated by products from Asia and Europe, with some imports from the United States, but the market segment for high quality products remains largely available.   

Nigeria has been able to maintain footprint in space through its communications satellite (NigComSat-1R), which was launched in 2011. The satellite is expected to be retired around 2025. In March 2021, NigComSat announced its call for expressions of interest (EOI) for additional communications satellites from competent manufacturers, contractors, vendors, and partners in the satellite industry. Firms will be pre-qualified for consideration in the implementation of the design, manufacture, launch, in-orbit test, and commissioning of a high-through satellite (HTS). The statement from the agency notes that it intends to increase its fleet of satellites to address a broad array of the communication needs of the country in the areas of broadcasting, broadband, and internet services by procuring the manufacture and launching of an HTS. 

Leading Sub-sectors

Fiber on air and fiber to the home (FTTH) is receiving interest following the increased bandwidth capacity now available in the country. Local internet service providers (ISPs) in Nigeria are providing improved high-speed wireless to the home (WTTH) services. 

Cloud computing is fast becoming a necessary aspect in the operations of large businesses and some government agencies in Nigeria. There are several data centers across the country; Nigeria currently has about four enterprise-grade and multi-tenant data centers categorized as Tier III or Tier IV. These provide any or all major data center offerings: 

  • Software as a service (SaaS)
  • Platform as a service (PaaS)
  • Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
  • Back-up as a service (BaaS)

Commercial activities within this segment of the market are expected to remain buoyant as the government continues to pursue a data localization policy. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian government’s body responsible for data protection, is requesting that all telecommunications companies host all subscriber and consumer data in Nigeria. Further, they request all ministries, departments, and agencies of the federal government to host their websites locally under a registered “.gov.ng” domain, along with all sovereign data. 

Fintech and digital financial services in Nigeria are gaining widespread use and acceptance as the government continues to campaign for a cashless economy. This is also being fueled by the increasing adoption of mobile phones. NCC, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), now allows mobile network operators (MNOs) be licensed and perform mobile money payment services. The CBN issued an approval to the nation’s MNOs (MTN Nigeria, Glo and Airtel) to operate as payment service banks (PSB).

With growing interest in online commerce, Nigerian fintech operators are also gaining traction. So far, digital financial services in Nigeria mainly provide savings, lending, and payments. The payments acceptance market, especially merchant and bill payment services, is fast becoming dominated by third-party aggregators and other nonbanks including switch operators. Major participants in the space are Cellulant, Flutterwave, Paystack, Systemspec, WebPay, Paga, eTranzact, Quickteller, and PayArena. In October 2024, Moniepoint became the sixth Nigerian fintech to gain “unicorn status” after the company raised $110 million in its latest funding round with notable investors including Google.

The viability of Nigeria’s tech industry keeps growing. With five out of seven of the continent’s tech unicorns, Lagos remains the top destination for investments going into what has been dubbed “Africa’s Silicon Valley.” In 2023, Nigeria’s tech startups raised approximately $400 million in funding. The United States remains the leading source of investment, with nearly 60 percent of all fintech investment flowing into Nigeria.

Smart mobility and last-mile logistics are another part of the tech ecosystem that has gained some popularity. Following the launch in Nigeria of Uber’s ride-sharing service in 2014, several other models have been introduced and adopted, including motorbike-hailing and courier services. Smart mobility is a disruptive market force in the global transportation technology sector.  There are huge prospects for the vehicle technology industry in Nigeria, especially within the automotive aftermarket space including GPS navigation systems, telematics, mobile electronics, camera systems, security control, and tracking systems.

Opportunities

There are several investment opportunities in Nigeria’s diverse information technology sector for U.S. investors. Nigeria’s cloud service market terrain is still nascent as there are only a few participants currently involved in enterprise-grade deployments. Industry analysts see activity increasing for partnerships, as well as equipment sales and technical services. Also, the digital financial services and financial tech sector is continually evolving with new participants and product launches. This is spurred by both government policy to promote a cashless economy and the high number of digital natives in the ecosystem.

Additionally, there is huge potential in the country’s fiber optic and broadband market given the continued expansion of Nigeria’s international submarine cable system. Further opportunities may be explored in the satellite internet and television white space (TVWS) segments as the roll out of terrestrial fiber across the country may not provide the much-needed nationwide coverage, hence the need for alternative technologies. U.S. information technology companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and internet service providers (ISPs) may also consider the emerging needs for supply of required devices (antennas, solar kits, cabling, diverse range of wireless communication, and radio products for high-capacity data and voice delivery) in this space.

The Nigeria Startup Act initiated by both the Presidency’s Office of the Chief of Staff and Office of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was signed into law in October 2022. The Act oversees policy guidelines and regulations in the Nigeria tech space and aims to create a conducive environment for Nigerian startups to launch and scale products and attract foreign investment. Although the Startup Act demonstrates a willingness that the supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, little progress has been made on implementation thus far.

Challenges 

Though Nigeria remains a major ICT powerhouse on the continent, there have been reports of a recent slow-down of the sector caused by rising exchange rates and constrained access to the foreign exchange necessary for the import of inputs. Downstream effects include foreign exchange scarcity, wide disparity between the dollar and the local currency (naira), impacted investment, and increased cost of equipment procurement.

Additionally, the ICT sector faces several other persistent challenges, impacting its growth and digital infrastructure expansion. These include lengthy permit processing times, multiple layers of taxation across federal, state, and local levels, and regulatory overlap among agencies. Physical issues, like cable theft and damage to fibre infrastructure during roadwork or construction projects, further complicate development. Right of Way (ROW) charges, inconsistently applied across states, also add to costs, creating significant barriers for telecom operators needing to lease transmission infrastructure. In response to these issues, the federal government has urged states to adopt the standardized ROW charge of ₦145 ($0.37) per linear meter, aiming to streamline costs and attract investments. Progressively, some states are reducing these fees or offering ROW at zero cost to encourage digital infrastructure expansion beyond major urban areas. Nigeria’s international connectivity has grown considerably. Since the country’s first submarine cable system with a 340 GB capacity in 2001, there are now eight international cable systems with a combined capacity exceeding 40 Tbps.

Local Industry Events

  • Digital Africa Conference; Location: Online
  • NigeriaCom Conference; Location: Online
  • Social Media Week; Location: TBD
  • Art of Technology Lagos (December 4-5, 2024)
  • IOT West Africa Conference & Exhibition 2024, Lagos (May 13-15, 2025)
  • Lagos Startup Week (July 2025)
  • GITEX Nigeria, Lagos & Abuja (September 1-4, 2025.
  • Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition, Abuja (September 2025)
  • MoonShot by Tech Cabal (October 15-16, 2025)
  • Nigerian Fintech Week (October, 2025) 

Resources 

Nigerian Communications Commission
Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency
Techcabal Media
BusinessDay News
Nairametrics