Johnson lists key characters for ICT growth

L-R Angaye, Mrs Omobola Johnson, Perm Sec, Juwah,Muri Baba

Minister of Communication Technology (MoCT) Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has outlined some key characters for the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

Johnson who spoke at a stakeholders forum organized by her ministry in Lagos, said in her paper entitled “The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry in Nigeria: A Roadmap presentation at “Roundtable on Creation of a Digital Economy and Information Society in Nigeria” that the Nigerian ICT industry characteristics showed indicated a predominantly service-based industry that is distinguished by dominance of basic voice and data communication services provided by telecom companies, in particular mobile (GSM) operators.

According to her, the industry has limited manufacturing and assembly capabilities for ICT equipment and devices.

In addition, she said, these devices are predominantly sold by companies that have established channel partnership with global manufacturers, even as there are an increasing ‘grey market’ of ICT equipment, devices and peripherals.

“Delivery of content is mainly through conventional media such as television, radio and newspapers,” she said.

Equally, she noted that content delivery are mainly via the Internet and is limited but increasing internet penetration is low.

This, she said, is predominantly via mobile phones, and whilst international bandwidth capacity has improved terrestrial national capacity, thus lagging behind.

The Nigerian ICT industry, Mrs. Johnson said, has growth potential, opportunities for job creation, challenges, although there are some priority areas for intervention.

The nation’s ICT industry, she pointed out, is a predominantly service-based industry that is characterized by highly fragmented markets; exemplified by proliferation of small players with low-value offerings.

As said by her, the delivery of value added services such as network and systems integration is mostly for corporate customers that are comparatively few in number.

She emphasized that the manufacturing and assembly of hardware exhibits very low growth due to lack of essential support infrastructures which limit opportunities and raise entry barriers.

“Software development and the software industry in general, are under-developed due to paucity of skill despite a ready and untapped market,” she said.

Remmy Nweke

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