Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oluwole, says digital connectivity and infrastructure are critical for Nigeria’s investment climate, business competitiveness and participation in international trade.
Delivering the keynote at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum in Abuja on Wednesday organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and partners, Oluwole said that digital infrastructure was no longer limited to telecommunications.
According to the minister, fibre networks, data centres, cloud infrastructure, digital platforms, electronic payments and secure data systems are increasingly important to the movement of goods, services, capital and information.
Speaking on the theme of the two-day programme, “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data Transparency and Partnerships”, she stated that trade is digital, with Nigerian software developers, fashion entrepreneurs, fintech companies and manufacturers already using digital platforms to participate in international trade.
“The GSM Association’s (GSMA’s) Mobile Economy Africa 2026 report indicated that mobile technology and services contributed about 240 billion dollars to Africa’s economy in 2025.
“This is representing 7.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and supporting about 13 million jobs,” she said.
She also said that Nigeria’s telecommunications sector accounted for more than 9 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of 2026.
She said that a World Bank and GSMA study found that extreme poverty among households declined by about seven per cent after two or more years of mobile broadband coverage.
The minister said that global investment in data centres had expanded rapidly due to cloud computing, AI and growing demand for digital services.
She added that the investment opportunity covered data centres, cloud services, fibre and broadband infrastructure, digital platforms, fintech, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital logistics and digital intelligence services.
Oluwole said that infrastructure should translate into economic opportunities.
She added that there was need for businesses to access markets, make payments, comply with regulations, move data securely and provide services across borders.
The minister stated that Nigeria’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol would facilitate intra-African digital trade through predictable rules, regulatory cooperation, interoperability, digital skills and infrastructure.
She disclosed that Nigeria was designated co-champion of the protocol and subsequently became the first state party to ratify it, while also taking steps to develop an implementation strategy.
The minister said that Nigeria was implementing the African Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade (ADAPT) initiative as one of the first three pilot countries, alongside Kenya and Morocco.
Oluwole said ADAPT would support interoperability of digital identity, cross-border data exchange and payment systems, making cross-border trade faster, safer and less costly.
She called on investors, operators, development partners and innovators to see Nigeria not only as a large consumer market but also as a platform for serving the wider African market.
GIK/APA