President Mohammahu Buhari has made a case for more investments in the telecoms sector at the 2nd edition of the United States- Africa Business Forum . The president who was putting into view the country’s potentials for investments said that opportunities abound in the county’s Digital Economy.
According to him, “the digital economy, like Infrastructure, has a multiplier effect that touches every part of the economy. We have welcomed and continue to welcome investors willing to take a stake in one of the world’s largest and fastest growing telecoms markets a market which has attracted more than $35 billion in FDI over the last decade and half. The Nigerian Communications Commission will shortly commence a licensing process for the deployment of broadband infrastructure across metropolitan areas in the country”.
Buhari who was speaking to potential investors at the forum emphasised the contribution of young Nigerians who are increasingly demonstrating that they have the talent and the passion to leverage the digital economy for solving our most pressing challenges.
“We are seeing a lot of activity in that space, and not just in Lagos, but even in cities further afield, from Uyo to Abuja. There are currently 150 million active mobile phone lines in the country – sixty per cent of which are connected to the Internet. I can confidently say that Nigeria is in the early stages of a domestic technology revolution, and the government is paying serious attention and offering its full support”.
Recalling the visit of Mark Zuckerberg to the country and its attendant effect on the digital economy he said, “three weeks ago I hosted Mark Zuckerberg, the Founder and CEO of Facebook, which is now used regularly by 17 million Nigerians, more people than in any other country in Africa. A few months ago Mr. Zuckerberg invested $24 million in Andela, a technology company that has Iyin Aboyeji, a 25-year-old Nigerian as one of its co-founders, and maintains its main campus in the city of Lagos. On the same day that Mr. Zuckerberg visited I also welcomed and interacted with 30 of the most exciting technology startups in the country; among whom lie tomorrow’s billion-dollar corporations”.
