Telecom sector contributes 16% to Nigeria’s GDP —MTN Chairman

The Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dr Ernest Ndukwe, says the telecom sector now contributes over 16 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Ndukwe said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a two-day Premier Capital Markets Day Event organised by MTN.

According to him, in pursuant to MTN’s vision 2025 strategy, the company had evolved from telecom to technology business, adding that it assured on building connectivity business while expanding its focus on platform businesses.

He said  that as the digital ecosystem continued to grow,  MTN’s impact on the nation’s economy would continue to increase.

“MTN remains the largest network operator in Nigeria, and we recognise the enormous responsibility bestowed on us to continue to deliver world class ICT services to the people that patronise our services.

“We also seize strong opportunities for growth in both our voice and data businesses as we work to increase our market permutations on geographical coverage.

“Our customers and their desires are the heart of everything we do and plan for the future of the business.

“We are proud to say that the MTN ecosystem has directly or indirectly created employment for more that two million people, while supporting the livelihood of people across the country.

“We are fully committed to working with our partners and the Nigerian government to ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy has its full potential on customers and stakeholders,” he said.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, expressed  optimism that the economic challenges of the country were gradually coming to an end.

Toriola called on the stakeholders to enjoy the experience of the programme.

CEO of Nigeria Exchange Limited,  Mr Timi Popoola  said the event would make both local and foreign investors stay close to the country, adding that it deepened interactions with MTN.

Popoola said that a sort code of *5474# was launched by MTN  in order to get a bouquet of options, which include: opening and closing prices of any security listed on the exchange.

“We hope that this is the first step of using a tool like this to invest in a capital market,” he said.