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Nigerian Telecoms Overtake Oil As Largest Contributor To Economy

Nigerian Telecoms Overtake Oil As Largest Contributor To Economy

From Ventures Africa

Since the start of the “Telecoms revolution” Nigeria’s image in the global communication circuit has shot to the heavens. At international forums, international organizations have consistently cited the Nigerian telecom regulatory model and growth gradient as a template for others.

In recent years, Africa’s largest economy has been recognized during the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) conferences, which Nigeria has had the privilege of hosting twice since the advent of the telecom revolution.

The reasons for this are not far-fetched. In the recent history of global telecoms, Nigeria has held the record for being the fastest growing mobile market in the world for five consecutive years; Nigerian telecoms, more than many elsewhere in the world, has recorded the highest return on investment; it has generated more jobs, steady jobs, and millions of ancillary jobs than any sector in the local economy.

The industry has grown to being a major contributor to the country’s GDP. It has blossomed to well over $32 billion industry from a trifling $50 million in the year 2000.

During an event at the Lagos Business School, a keynote speaker, Dr. Doyin Salami, made it known that the telecoms and other services sectors have contributed 8.7 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP in 2015, with the country’s main economic stay, oil, accounting for 6.4 percent, which was occasioned by the drop in world oil price.

This invariably affected the country’s economic growth pattern since oil accounted for 71 percent of the country’s export earnings against 54 percent in 2014.

The telecoms sector is a major stakeholder in the area of Foreign Direct Investment to the Nigerian economy, providing more than half of the country’s FDIs.

Read more at Ventures Africa