Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Economy in 2022

With the growing trends in emerging technologies, coupled with new developments in the Information and Communications Technology sector, industry stakeholders are full of hopes that the application of ICT in governance and in private businesses will further enhance Nigeria’s digital economy goals in 2022, writes Emma Okonji

Global economies are leveraging on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to advance economic development and Nigeria is not left out, as the federal government continues to develop ICT policies and also ensures implementation of such policies.

Aside ICT policy formulation and implementation, industry stakeholders are of the view that adoption and application of new technologies by the private and public sectors will act as catalyst in achieving Nigeria’s digital economy goals, among which is digital transformation and smart city initiative.

They are optimistic that increased investments in health, agriculture banking and other sectors of the Nigerian economy, will not only attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but will also enhance Nigeria’s digital economy.

ICT in Heath, Agriculture
President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Adesina Sodiya, who spoke on the need for further investment in ICT to drive the health and agriculture sectors of the economy, including the banking and manufacturing sectors, said Nigeria would gain a lot with further investments in such key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Although Sodiya said the federal government had started laying the right foundation through various ICT policy implementations, which are geared towards using ICT for national development, he however stressed need for Nigeria to develop technologies that can address local challenges and enhance socio-economic development. Nigeria should grow to the level where it can use technology to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country, he said, adding that e-Agriculture for instance, can attract a lot of revenue for Nigeria, if well implemented.

According to him, “NCS is already driving advocacy around school adoption and technology to drive agricultural production. Government must increase the use of technology to drive agriculture in schools and among farmers. Government should support modern and large scale agriculture and the states and federal government can device means to use ICT to drive agriculture at the state and federal government levels, because large scale agriculture involves huge capital for a start. We also need technology to improve processing of agricultural products. Nigeria cannot produce what can feed the nation and we cannot continue to rely on consumption of foreign products.”

Giving more details, he said: “The solution is to use technology to drive agriculture as an alternative source of income for Nigeria. If Nigeria begins to use technology application like Internet of Things (IoT) to drive precision agriculture, Nigeria will be able to produce enough farm produce that will feed the country and still have enough to market to foreign countries.”

Variables that Will Shape 2022
Looking at key variables in the ICT sector that will shape 2022, industry stakeholders are of the view that the planned 5G technology rollout in 2022, the planned acquisition of MainOne by Equinix in 2022 and the launch of Africa Data Centre, including the berthing of several subsea cables at the shores of Nigeria, and the operation of cloud computing services by data centre operators, will act as catalyst in driving Nigeria’s digital economy in 2022.

According to industry stakeholders, the recent emergence of MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Ltd, as winners of the keenly contested 3.5 GHz spectrum auction for 5G deployment in the country, coupled with the $574.2 million that the federal government realised from the auction, Nigeria, no doubt, is set to achieve faster digital transformation in 2022.

The stakeholders were also of the view that the launch of a 10 megawatt data centre facility in Nigeria by the Africa Data Centres (ADC), which held in Lagos in December 2021, would further diversify Nigeria’s economy and enhance her digital transformation agenda in 2022.
Nigeria made history on December 13, 2021, when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, successful auctioned two lots in the 3.5GHz spectrum license to MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications Ltd, to set the stage for 5G rollout in the country in 2022.

Although the main stage auction eventually ended at round eleven, with a winning bid price of $273.6 million for each operator, MTN however bided additional $15.9 million to get lot 1 of the spectrum, while Mafab bided additional $11.1 million to get lot 2 of the spectrum, bringing the total amount raised to $574.2 million.

Chief Executive Officer of Tetconsult UK and the immediate past Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (WTO), Shola Taylor, who commending NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy for a successful spectrum auction, said: “The successful auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum is a great example of how nations determine the market price of highly demanded spectrum. The NCC must be congratulated for managing this process excellently, having demonstrated a shining example for the rest of Africa. Auctions remain the most transparent method of awarding such spectrum licences.”

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, told THISDAY that the 3.5GHz spectrum auction would open vista of opportunities for 5G rollout and also enhance digital transformation across the country in several ways in 2022. According to him, “The 3.5GHz spectrum will pave way for speedy deployment of 5G network/in 2022, and once we have systems and applications running on the spectrum at high speed data, there will be faster integration of systems and there will be increased access with machine-to-machine connection that will also drive financial inclusion. What we used to download in minutes before, will now be in milliseconds and there will be improved customer experience to speed, access and connectivity. It will enhance e-Commerce, e-Health, e-Government, among others, with great improvement on national security.”

Gbenga said those operators that would deploy 5G technology in 2022, would likely change the dynamics in the telecoms sector and the Nigerian economy at large, because they would be introducing new applications that would run faster on 5G network, and improve customer experience in 2022.

Giving credence to the efficacy of the launch of African Data Centres in Lagos in December last year, the federal government and the Lagos State government said the launch of the 10 megawatt data centre facility in Nigeria by the Africa Data Centres in 2021, would further diversify Nigeria’s economy and enhance her digital transformation agenda in 2022.

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the launch would help to further diversify the Nigerian economy.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said with the launch of Africa Data Centres, called LOS1, the state government would look forward to seeing LOS2 and LOS3 shortly.

“We celebrate the official launch of Africa Data Centres LOS1 facility in Lagos and it is our strong belief that the facility located in Eko Atlantic, will revolutionise digital solutions in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Government will provide the necessary support required to achieve the objectives of Africa Data Centres,” Sanwo-Olu said.

CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, described Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets, as there is a rapidly-growing demand for data centres in the region.
The Director, Google West Africa, Juliet Ehimuan, said the continuous berthing of subsea cables at the shores of Nigeria would further diversify the Nigerian economy in 2022.

“Google is very excited about its investment in the Equiano subsea cable, whose initiative started a while ago. Currently work is in advance stage and we are expecting the cable to be live in the second quarter of next year. Hopefully, by 2022, the Equiano subsea cable will be live in Nigeria, providing increased internet speed and connectivity, thus creating additional jobs for Nigerians and for other neighbouring countries where the cable will pass through,” Ehimuan said.

How 5G Will Define 2022
NCC had commenced the process for the auction of the 5G spectrum in the last quarter of the 2021 and had, since then, carried out a number of activities ahead of the main auction.
On October 7, 2021, the commission had published the Draft Information Memorandum (IM) on the auction of the 5G spectrum on its website, and issued a public notice in major channels, including print, electronic, and new digital media. Comments on the draft IM were received by the commission up until October 28, 2021.

On November 3, 2021, the commission held a stakeholders’ engagement forum in Lagos at which comments received from a broad segment of stakeholders, including the major operators, were exhaustively discussed and considered.

On November 10, 2021, the commission published the final IM, and stakeholders’ comments thereon on its website and the national dailies, and set the deadline for the submission of bids on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.
NCC extended the date for submission of the bidding applications from Wednesday, November 24, 2021 to Monday, November 29, 2021.

On December 1, 2021, the NCC announced the three companies – MTN Nigeria Limited, Mafab Communications Ltd, and Airtel Networks Ltd – as having successfully submitted their bids in line with the requirements of the IM.
On December 10 and 13, NCC conducted mock and actual auction respectively and announced winners of the 5G licemce.

The 5G network rollout in 2022 is expected to revolutionise the Nigerian economy, deepen broadband penetration and enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, as 5G has the capacity for low latency, increased broadband speed and faster downloads, with seamless internet connectivity.

Planned Entry of Equinix
Several industry stakeholders have expressed their confidence that the planned acquisition of MainOne by Equinix in 2022, will pave way for the entry of multi-national data centre operator into Nigeria and Africa to boost development on the continent.

Equinix had in December last year, announced its business romance with MainOne Broadband Company and its intension to conclude acquisition of MainOne for a whopping $320 million.
CEO of MainOne, a Nigeria-based broadband company, Ms. Funke Opeke, said the presence of Equinix would further deepen broadband infrastructure rollout that would deliver more of the value chain in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.

According to her, “Rather than just transmitting information, we are able to actually service the requirements out of here by Nigerians and still be a part of that global platform and Equinix brings investment, brings know how, relationships with all these global companies, as well as technology that becomes available not just to global companies coming in, but to local companies who want access to world-class technologies.”

She explained that the financial shareholders and current owners of MainOne have nurtured the business to a point where it is profitable, where they are able to take an exit and hand it over to a strategic player.

“The number one strategic players globally is able to take the company to the next level as part of this market. Obviously getting a strategic partner such as Equinix who is a direct investor in this business and is bringing not just money, but know-how and customers is a step up for MainOne,” Opeke said.

The Vice President, Growth and Emerging Markets at Equinix, Judith Gardiner, explained that the partnership would be valuable to their earnings per share as soon as the deal closes as there would not be diluting of the earnings or the combiner results with MainOne.
Gardiner noted that aside from the $320 million they are bringing to the table, Equinix would be putting a lot of emphasis on expansion growth over the next twelve to eighteen months as there would be a lot of demand coming from customers internationally.

The ADC Launch
The launch of Africa Data Centres (ADC) in Lagos in December last year, is another variable that will shape the ICT sector in 2022.
Managing Director, Rack Centre, a foremost Tier III Data Centre Operator in Nigeria, Dr. Tunde Cocker, said the launch of ADC in Nigeria, which is a consortium of data centre operators, would complement the operation of other data centre operators like Rack Centre, to serve the Nigerian data market better in 2022.

CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, described Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets as there is a rapidly-growing demand for data centres in the region, which is hungry for digitisation, as organisations of every type and size in Africa accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

According to Duproz, “As part of the recently launched Cassava Technologies group, Africa Data Centres plays a critical role when it comes to providing this very digital infrastructure that is needed to support the mass adoption of digital services for consumers and businesses in the region. The facility is the first of four faculties being earmarked for Nigeria, and the company has plans to also build an additional facility in Lagos at a separate location to ensure full disaster backup, whilst Abuja, and Port Harcourt will also get their own facilities.”

Giving further details of the operations of the new data facility in 2022, Duproz described the Lagos operations as a significant milestone for Africa Data Centres, as it shines the spotlight on the tremendous growth opportunity the company sees, not only for its business in the region, but also for Africa as a whole.

“These plans are the greatest Africa has ever seen. They will see us build some ten interconnected, cloud and carrier-neutral data centres across the length and breadth of the continent, in an unmatched $500 million investment in Africa’ digital transformation, which will double our already significant investment in the continent,” Duproz further said.
With all the developmental plans for 2022, ICT, no doubt, will act as catalyst in driving Nigeria’s digital economy in 2022.