Blame network operators for your occasional poor user experience, but the widening of the telecoms industry is probably the best thing that happened to Nigeria at the turn of the millennium. Since the fateful days of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, when mobile phones first became widely accessible, the sector has evolved from a novelty into one of the country’s strongest economic engines.
The proof? In 2024, Nigeria’s telecoms industry generated a record ₦7.67 trillion ($5.11 billion) in revenue, a staggering 44.7% increase from the previous year.
How it happened: According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), telecoms contributed 14.4% to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter of 2024, cementing its role as a cornerstone of the digital economy.
At the heart of this boom were MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, which together accounted for more than 85% of the market and roughly ₦6.6 trillion ($4.6 billion) in revenue. MTN led with over 84 million subscribers and ₦3.94 trillion ($2.7 billion) in earnings, while Airtel followed with ₦2.64 trillion ($1.83 billion).
So what drove this surge? Broadband and mobile data adoption skyrocketed as more Nigerians embraced remote work, digital banking, e-learning, and streaming. The number of 4G and 5G base stations surged to 145,141 nationwide, while telecom companies poured ₦2.9 trillion ($2 billion) into network upgrades, a 159% jump in capital spending.
Even with inflation, high energy costs, and a volatile naira, operators doubled down on innovation, expanding services like mobile money, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
Zoom out: The telecoms industry has become Nigeria’s silent economic powerhouse, fuelling the next phase of its digital transformation. With infrastructure still expanding and demand showing no signs of slowing, telecoms may just be the most reliable growth story in the country’s economy today.
