Nigeria’s telecom landscape has driven the West African tech economy up the ladder with the region’s telecoms sector now hitting $63.1 trillion
The huge revenue accrues from activities in the Fintechs, E-commerce and Digital Market places which contribute 80 per cent growth annually.
The region is also bolstered by $30 billion injected annually, into the region’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, through Digital Economy activities.
However, looking at the statistics by the West African Telecom Regulatory Association, WATRA, it’s not difficult to see why the region’s telecom fortune is looking up.
WATRA is an association of regulators in the sub-region of West Africa, with a responsibility to improve telecoms service delivery in West Africa, through collaboration.
As at 2024, the region has over 400 million subscribers. The growth rate of mobile penetration s 21 per cent with over 90 per cent of internet subscriptions.
Also, there was an increase of 21 per cent in 2019 but in 2023, it rose astronomically to 60 per cent.
These are occasioned by telecoms investments and infrastructural development across the region, which Nigeria headlines.
The telecoms sector contributes 77 per cent to regional GDP, and 5G technology which has been launched in Nigeria, Ghana and in a few other West African countries, are key drivers of this impressive growth.
