(Ecofin Agency) - Nigeria is Africa's largest telecommunications market with approximately 210 million mobile subscribers. Its success has attracted several peers who aim to emulate it, as digital transformation is accelerating across the continent.

The Gambia wants to capitalize on Nigeria’s experience to accelerate the development of its telecom sector. To this end, Ousman Bah (photo, left), Gambia's Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, sought the support and collaboration of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) during a working visit to the regulator's headquarters last weekend.

According to Mr. Bah, the visit was inspired by the success of the Nigerian telecommunications sector. " The current industry statistics are proof that Nigeria is achieving her goals of digitization," he said, stressing that his country was striving to follow the same path.

The visit comes in a context marked by rapid growth of the Nigerian telecom sector amid accelerated digital transformation. According to the latest statistics from the regulator, the market has 209.9 million mobile subscribers and 152 million Internet users, including 86 million connected to broadband internet.  

The telecom sector’s contribution to the Nigerian economy has continued to grow in recent years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), information and communication technology (ICT) contributed 18.44 percent to Nigeria's real gross domestic product (GDP) in Q2-2022.

During the visit, Josephine Amuwa (photo, right), the NCC Director of Legal and Regulatory Services, indicated that the success experienced by the Nigerian telecom sector is due to the regulatory activities of the NCC, which strives to “create an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry, as well as provide qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country" in line with the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003.

Isaac K. Kassouwi