The Nigerian telecoms regulator has said that while COVID-19 disrupted telecoms industry investments, the pandemic successfully drove a surge in digital adoption across the country.
This is one of the highlights of a new report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which reveals the profound impact of COVID-19 on Nigeria’s telecoms sector, and also underscores significant disruptions to investments, and a dramatic increase in digital adoption.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe effect on Nigeria’s economic landscape, particularly within the telecoms sector. Investment levels have sharply declined since the onset of the pandemic and have yet to return to pre-2019 figures, according to the authors of the NCC report that underscores how the global health crisis disrupted investment flows, halted growth, and created lingering uncertainties within the sector.
Despite the investment downturn, the report highlights that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital platforms in Nigeria. This shift is evidenced by a remarkable increase in digital payment transactions. Retail e-payments in Nigeria saw extraordinary growth of 269% from 2019 to 2020, reaching a total of 10.7 billion transactions. The value of these transactions surged by 288%, hitting ₦470 billion. This surge reflects a global trend toward digital payments, including contactless cards and mobile payment apps, though Nigeria’s growth has not fully penetrated all market segments.
“COVID-19, and to some extent the elections that were held in Nigeria in February 2023,” the report states, “led to significant slowdowns, and a number of policies and strategies were delayed or expired and have not been renewed. It is hoped that key policies affecting the ICT sector and digitalization
will be addressed under the new administration.”
Surge in digital adoption
Despite the investment downturn, the report highlights that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital platforms in Nigeria. This shift is evidenced by a remarkable increase in digital payment transactions. Retail e-payments in Nigeria saw extraordinary growth of 269% from 2019 to 2020, reaching a total of 10.7 billion transactions. The value of these transactions surged by 288%, hitting ₦470 billion. This surge reflects a global trend toward digital payments, including contactless cards and mobile payment apps, though Nigeria’s growth has not fully penetrated all market segments.
Path to economic recovery
According to the report, Nigeria’s path to recovery from the pandemic hinges on the development of a robust digital and knowledge economy. Countries with advanced broadband infrastructure and high ICT penetration were better able to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19. Nigeria, while possessing basic digital infrastructure, needs significant investment in digital technologies, infrastructure, and literacy to harness the full potential of the digital economy.
The reports underscores that, “Nigeria has the basic infrastructure in place, but much is needed to enable digital transformation across the country and its economy. Increased market player innovation, infrastructure especially ICT and digital financial infrastructure, digital literacy, and shifting consumer attitudes are all needed to better cake advantage of the digital economy”.
Addressing sector challenges
While Nigeria’s telecoms market performance is competitive within the region, the NCC report authors note that it lags behind global standards in several areas. Key challenges include improving local cloud service hosting, expanding mobile money, and increasing the penetration of digital financial services. Collaborative efforts with policymakers and regulators are essential to address broader issues such as financial sector gaps, infrastructure deficits, corruption, macroeconomic instability, and cybersecurity.
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