ICT drives productivity, growth of Nigerian Industries – Expert
Expert in the nation’s Fintech industry said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has widespread multiple impacts on the local industries as it drives 90 per cent of the Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
The Chief Executive Officer of the Open Access Data, Dr Ayotunde Coker who made this statement during a webinar with a theme “Beyond Connectivity: Telcos and the Future of Financial Inclusion in Nigeria” said though the nation’s ICT sector contributed 19.78 per cent of the GDP in the second quarter of this year, but it has positive impact in all sectors of the economy, making it a critical driver of productivity and growth.
He said the role of ICT extends far beyond just telecoms, impacting industries in ways that are often not fully captured by traditional GDP measurements.
Coker pointed out that various sectors of the economy including oil and gas, finance, and others, rely heavily on ICT infrastructure to carry out their various function efficiently.
Speaking further he said “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.”
“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 explained that the rise of fintech has helped to showcase the importance of ICT, as it has digital solutions onto traditional financial services, noting that “A bank today is essentially a technology company that happens to deal with finance.
