(Ecofin Agency) - Nigeria’s minister of the digital economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, said the digital economy sector is expected to weigh more than 45% in the country’s GDP by the end of this year. This was during a virtual forum on Internet governance held on September 23-24.

The restriction measures initiated due to the pandemic have boosted telecom services consumption in the corporate world, especially on the e-commerce and digital finance segments. Revenues generated by the e-government program have helped make up for the financial shortfall caused by the crisis.

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami said the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP is already around 15% and could increase further. To maintain this overall upward trend, the government intends to increase the broadband penetration rate to 50% by the end of the year. The initial objective, in 2019, was to reach nearly 40% by 2021. But because of the need for connectivity created by the coronavirus, this penetration rate has already risen to 42%.