The Chief Executive Officer of Open Access Data Centre Dr. Ayotunde Coker has revealed that Information and Communication Technology drives nearly 90% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, despite the sector officially contributing around 20% in Q2 2023.
Dr. Coker disclosed this at the Nairametrics Industry Spotlight webinar, themed “Beyond Connectivity: Telcos and the Future of Financial Inclusion in Nigeria.”
He emphasized the extensive impact of ICT across various industries.
He noted that while the ICT sector’s direct contribution was recorded at 19.78% in the second quarter of this year, its influence permeates nearly all sectors of the economy, positioning it as a vital driver of productivity and growth.
Dr. Coker stressed that the role of ICT extends beyond telecommunications, impacting various industries in ways often not fully reflected in traditional GDP measurements.
“We must look at the impact beyond just telecoms and focus on the broad digital infrastructure because you can’t have telecoms without data centers; you can’t have the endpoint mobile communications or voice and data without the supporting infrastructure of towers and so on.
“There are a lot of back-end things that make the endpoint work,” he said.
He said that several sectors, including oil and gas, finance, and others, heavily depend on ICT infrastructure to operate efficiently.
The oil industry, for instance, relies on connectivity for its exploratory capabilities, a key aspect of its operations. Without ICT, much of what happens in these industries would not be possible,” he stated.
He described how financial services have increasingly become technology-driven, with banks essentially functioning as tech companies that manage finances.
The rise of fintech has further underscored the significance of ICT, as it adds digital solutions to traditional financial services.
“A bank today is essentially a technology company that happens to deal with finance,” Dr. Coker added, underlining how technological infrastructure forms the backbone of many industries.
Based on these realities, I can draw that into anecdotal evidence that technology affects at least 90% of what we do in our GDP, even though it’s just 20% of GDP,” he said.
Dr. Coker also highlighted the importance of broadband penetration in driving economic growth.
He noted that Nigeria’s overall broadband penetration currently ranges from 45% to 47%, but efforts by the government and industry stakeholders could push this figure beyond 50% soon. However, he emphasized the need to focus on “meaningful broadband,” which refers to the quality and adoption of broadband services rather than just coverage.
“Broadband alone is not enough. What really matters is broadband adoption at the endpoint. For it to drive economic growth, people need to use it meaningfully.
“We know that a 10% increase in broadband penetration leads to about 2.5% growth in GDP, so expanding access and adoption is crucial for economic transformation,” he said.
Data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that activities in the ICT sector contributed 19.78% to Nigeria’s real GDP in Q2 2024.
This showed a marginal increase in contribution when compared to the 19.54% recorded in the same period last year.
Quarter on quarter, the sector also recorded an increase in contribution when compared with the preceding quarter.
The NBS data showed that ICT contributed 17.89% to the real GDP in Q1 2024.
