Analysis

The industry has come together to urge the passage of a national building code
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For the past decade Nigeria’s construction industry has remained lively despite the lack of federal building laws. Though a draft National Building Code (NBC) was introduced in 2006, the legislation has been stuck in government limbo since August of that year. As of early 2015, it had yet to be formally endorsed by the National Assembly. While most of Nigeria’s large contractors abide by international…

Analysis

The Nigerian government works to meet rising demand for affordable housing
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In January 2014, the Nigerian government announced its establishment of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), a state entity that will provide long-term, low-interest financing to local lenders, to encourage them to ramp up their mortgage offerings for end-users. The new firm is the latest in a long line of affordable housing initiatives the government has launched since 2011. Addressing Nigeria’s…

Analysis

The sale of wireless spectrum in Nigeria set to have a major economic impact
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Under Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), launched by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (FMCT) in 2013, the government plans to increase wireless broadband penetration in the country to 42% by 2018. This represents a major jump on the current rate of 6% over a relatively brief span, but there is precedent for growth of this magnitude in Nigeria’s broadband market. According…

Analysis

Extending broadband penetration into Nigeria's rural communities
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As in many developing nations in Africa and around the world, Nigeria’s rural population has declined in recent years as a result of steadily increasing rural-urban migration. While this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, providing public services to rural communities remains a government priority. In terms of telecoms, Nigeria’s rural population is consistently underserved…

Analysis

Efforts in Nigeria to encourate local ICT entrepreneurs
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In recent years Nigeria has developed into a major market for ICT firms of all stripes. With a population of nearly 170m people – more than a third of whom subscribe to mobile internet services, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission – the country is the largest potential market for ICT products in Africa and one of the fastest-growing in the world. The number of mobile internet subscriptions…

Analysis

Outsourcing services in Nigeria's IT sector
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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) held Nigeria’s first National Outsourcing Conference in August 2011. The event marked a major push by Nigeria to carve out space in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) sector. The rationale behind this is clear. BPO firms are major employers in markets like India and the Philippines – a key consideration in Nigeria, where unemployment…

Analysis

Increased support for local production in Nigeria
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Thanks to a new policy on automobile imports and key foreign investment, passenger cars are being produced in Nigeria for the first time in decades, and could lead to a domestic automotive assembly industry in the country. While a small trickle of commercial vehicles have been assembled in Nigeria in recent years by local manufacturers such as Innoson Group, the first-to-market Nigerian passenger car…

Analysis

Fast food restaurants in Nigeria
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Despite the challenges inherent in retailing in Nigeria, the quick-service restaurants (QSR) segment has been growing rapidly. Like many areas of the economy, its long-term potential stands out in a global context because of Nigeria’s sizeable population, currently standing at around 170m. But while investors in most consumer-facing industries are expecting smaller returns upfront in exchange for…

Analysis

Nigeria switching from analogue to digital broadcasting in television and radio
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In recent years Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have worked to implement digital television broadcasting in Nigeria. This effort began in 2006, when the government announced a plan to digitise the nation’s analogue television broadcast signal by June 2015, in line with a global deadline established by the International Telecommunications…

Analysis

New opportunities for Nigeria's rapidly expanding film industry
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With the release of the film “Half of a Yellow Sun” in late 2013, Nigeria’s film industry, collectively known as “Nollywood”, saw what may serve as a watershed moment. The movie was adapted from a novel of the same name by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and was filmed at Tinapa Studios, in Calabar, Cross River State. With a reported budget of around $9m-10m and major Hollywood…