Andersen Nigeria, a global tax and business advisory firm, has said that the Nigeria telecommunication sector will continue to witness positive growth in 2023 due to trends set out to shape the space.
The firm disclosed this during the unveiling of the Andersen inaugural ‘Nigeria’s 2023 economic outlook’ in Lagos.
Lateef Surakatu, head of business advisory at Andersen, while presenting the projections on telecoms and the digital economy, said that the commercial rollout of the 5G services in line with BVAS deployment, Payment service banks expansion among others will be key growth enablers in the sector in 2023.
According to him, “2023 is expected to be another exemplary year for the Telecommunication sector, with the successful commercial rollout of the 5G services by MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications, expected significant investment in the 4G and 5G infrastructure by all network operators, the expected expansion of Payment Service Banking (PSB), as well as the expected deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the upcoming general elections.”
The Telecommunication sector has experienced steady growth over the last decade which has seen the GDP contribution maintain an average 9 percent growth rate over the past 6 years.
In the third quarter of 2022, the ICT sector contributed 20.3 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , the highest in 5 years.
Surakutu stated that this is largely due to the increased demand for data among companies and individuals as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in which the telecommunication sector played a major role.
Similarly, he said that Nigeria’s plan to achieve a 70 percent broadband penetration rate by 2025 looks to be on track to achieving the goal.
The firm said there are also expectations to see the implementation of new ideas geared towards developing a digitally inclined economy and in the long-term, improved investor confidence and a corresponding increase in funding.
The advisory firm said, “We also expect to see more adoption of technology in the running and delivery of government activities. Specifically, we hope to see more State Boards of Internal Revenue adopt digital solutions in the administration of their taxes. Also, we anticipate growth of e-payments and transactions as the government works to promote its push for a cashless economy.”
Meanwhile, Andersen projected that the financial service sector is expected to grow moderately by 10.3 percent in 2023 hinged on moderate growth in client loans, slow economic growth, heightened inflation, and higher interest rates.
“A number of factors are expected to drive the sector’s performance in 2023 which include, the currency redesign policy which is expected to bring back large volumes of money circulating outside the banking system thereby boosting liquidity and digital services revenue of the banks, the increasing adoption of digital payments, the volatile macroeconomic and security environment; and limited credit
availability due to the high reserve requirements by the CBN as well as increasing lending rates,” Andersen Nigeria stated.
Source : Business Day
