In recent years, the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Nigeria has grown and changed a lot. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the industry contributed 18.44% of the country’s GDP in the second quarter of 2022.
The government has put a lot of work into fostering the growth of the ICT industry and expanding access to ICT services and infrastructure. Initiatives like the National Broadband Plan and the National eGovernment Master Plan, which seek to increase the use of ICT in government operations and services, have been a part of this.
The Nigerian ICT sector does face a number of problems, such as a lack of cheap and reliable electricity, a lot of tax and regulation problems, limited access to ICT infrastructure in rural areas, and a lack of qualified ICT experts. Even with these problems, the industry has continued to grow, and it has the potential to be a key part of the nation’s economic growth.
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ICT trends for 2023 include these
Cloud computing adoption
Nigerian companies will use cloud computing to store and analyze data. This will help them save money and work more efficiently. Rack Centre, Cloudflex Computing Services Limited, Layer3Cloud, and others are growing in this field.
Growth of the e-commerce sector
E-commerce has become easier. Nigeria has a large population that is growing quickly; more people have mobile phones, and more people have access to the internet. With improvements in electronic payments and logistics, the trend of growth is likely to continue in the coming years. Jumia, Konga, and Jiji continue to demonstrate what is feasible in this market.
Broadband mobile usage growth
Mobile broadband is expected to keep growing in Nigeria because more people want to use data services, and more 4G and 5G networks are being built. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave 5G licenses to MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications in 2021. Airtel joined the party in December.
MTN claims to have launched services in a few cities. More 5G service rollouts and better access are expected in 2023.
Rise of fintech
In recent years, the fintech business in Nigeria has grown a lot. This is because more people are using digital financial services. According to reports, over 200 fintech companies are working quickly to close the financial inclusion gap in Nigeria. In the fintech ecosystem, there are businesses that deal with mobile payments, digital banking, merchant solutions, and personal finance.
Interswitch, Flutterwave, Paystack, PiggyVest, Paga, and E-tranzact are a few of the most important companies in this market.
Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) more frequently
In Nigeria, where the goal is to use technology to solve problems and improve services, AI is expected to be used more in a number of fields, such as healthcare, education, and agriculture. IoT Africa Networks Limited, Kobo360, and the Data Scientists Network are some of the early participants.
Growth of the outsourcing sector
Nigeria is a good place to outsource to because it has a highly educated workforce and low labour costs. This trend is likely to continue as long as businesses try to outsource certain business tasks to cut costs, boost productivity, and make more money. Leading companies in this field include Workforce Group, Philip Outsourcing, and Renda.
Digitization
Digital skills will be in demand as ICT increases. This tendency will certainly spur training programs to help people learn the requisite skills. In this area, governments are working hard.
The National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is training one million Python developers for machine learning and data science. The Second Phase of Eko Digital, which aims to teach one million young people in Lagos about cybersecurity, has already begun. Private sector initiatives abound.
ICT will still dominate the economy. In 2023, human capacity and infrastructure deployment will dominate ICT.