Experts Advocate for Government Support to Sustain Telecom Sector

Economic experts and industry stakeholders are urging government intervention to support the telecom sector, following significant losses reported by telecom companies on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). They caution that the sector’s decline could adversely impact the country’s overall economic growth and development.

At a breakfast session hosted by the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, industry leaders gathered to discuss the critical role of the telecom sector in economic dynamism. Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, highlighted the sector’s importance in driving growth, innovation, and productivity across various industries.

In his keynote address, “Nigerian Economy on the Brink, Adapt or Collapse?”, Rewane outlined the challenges faced by the telecom sector, including rising inflation, high operating costs, limited foreign exchange access, regulatory burdens, multiple taxations, and local government extortion. These issues, he noted, are hampering the sector’s growth, as evidenced by MTN’s financial loss in 2023.

Telecom operators are advocating for cost-reflective tariffs to counter these economic challenges. Rewane warned that without addressing these issues, the sector’s revenue potential may decline, causing a ripple effect on other industries.

He explained the “big push theory,” which suggests that growth in one sector can stimulate growth in others through backward and forward linkages. The telecom sector’s connections to various industries make it essential for economic growth, innovation, and productivity. “If the telecom industry collapses, all other sectors will follow,” Rewane emphasized, underlining the sector’s pivotal role in modern economies.