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Leo Stan Ekeh Highlights Nigeria’s Tech Potential @France–Nigeria Investment Forum

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By Tolu Aderemi-Cole

This year’s France–Nigeria Investment Forum, a major highlight of President Bola Tinubu’s visit to France, ended on a sound note and was mutually rewarding for both countries.

For some of us who have attended a few such forums in the past, this year’s edition stands out as the best from a Nigerian perspective, especially because of the organization and selection of relevant, successful Nigerian entrepreneurs who attended.

Though it was a government-to-government outing, the event was largely driven by the private sector, including experienced foreigners who functioned as moderators. In the past, the Nigerian government would showcase CEOs of companies that foreign investors found it difficult to connect with.

Also, this year, Nigeria’s leading women CEOs were presented to the French and global investment communities. I was impressed with the confidence Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, the CEO of Zenith Bank, Dr. Owen Omogiafor and Jumoke Oduwole, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment exhibited during their respective presentations. This is good for the Tinubu administration and the Nigeria economy and in tandem with emerging global trends where women have been raising the bar in entrepreneurship and leadership.

However, what was exceptional to me as a Nigerian UK-based property investor, was the presentation of Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox and Konga Group as he was introduced.

He gave a completely different perspective to the event, speaking with confidence on the technology capacity of Nigeria to support foreign investors. He assured the foreign investors of the existence of world-class IT professionals in their thousands who are available to support these investors.

He pleaded with French investors to invest in the educational sector and partner with some Nigerian educational institutions to produce graduates who may become global citizens in the corporate world. It was a great eye-opener for the packed hall as he personally gave an example of what his companies have done in the tech sector for French companies in Nigeria over 30 years ago. Most of these companies had their CEOs present at the event.

Ekeh’s confidence was infectious, and you could gauge the impact of his audacious presentation from the faces of both the foreigners and Nigerians in the audience. I am sure there are many companies with the profile of Zinox and Konga Group that are yet to be showcased to the world.

People left the hall very impressed. Though I was unable to reach him as he had a few persons engaging him, and I left immediately after his presentation, I spent time on Google to check out this Nigerian who presented the Nigerian technology roadmap over 30 years back.

One of his most impactful impressions in his presentation was when he said that you cannot anticipate future investments anywhere in the world without technology as your enabler.

Google revealed a lot about this humble Africa’s leading tech icon. It was a great expose for a Nigerian who pioneered many tech initiatives on the continent. Very touching was what led him to transition Nigeria from analogue petrol dispensing pumps at filling stations to today’s digital dispensing pumps when he was cheated at a petrol station, amongst others.

His profile also mentioned how he lost over $28m in one swoop on an AI and Robotics investment that failed after he acquired the largest warehouse in the city of Lagos to install the intelligent, high-end project over eight years ago.

As I was travelling back to UK, I was reflecting on opportunities that abound in Nigeria. Today, we celebrate Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who has an African background but who made his money outside Africa, but I wager that Musk could not have made as much money if he had stayed back in Africa. Never!

Ekeh’s reason for not hitting the jackpot is that he is operating out of a very limited Nigeria economy with structural challenges and several infrastructural deficits.

The young Minister of Technology and Digital Economy Dr. Bosun Tijani, should be encouraged to produce more Dr. Ekehs to guarantee the future of Nigeria.

Ekeh in his narration talked about how as a young man he returned to Nigeria over 37 years ago with a vision to launch what he called ‘Digital Democracy’ by digitalising elections and electoral processes in the country. He also narrated his effort at consolidation of data through digital census to guide planning and investments to achieve his ambition of promoting Nigeria to the status of an economy the world can trust.

He may have achieved his vision for digital elections with massive tech deployment which his company handled, but I am not sure how he could achieve a trusted economy where 80% of successful persons in the country are in oil and gas, cement, road construction, all brutally controlled by government both directly and vicariously.

Tech is the present and the future, and the Nigerian government must be intentional by patronising and helping to grow indigenous players to ensure they remain competitive on the global stage. I must say that I am proud of Dr. Ekeh and his achievements as a serial tech entrepreneur. His work inspires confidence in Nigeria’s potential. However, the next two years will be pivotal in proving that this progress can be sustained.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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Nigeria Has World’s Most Affordable Data Costs – GSMA

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Nigeria has an average data cost of $0.38 per gigabyte, making her the most affordable countries globally and one of the cheapest in Africa for mobile data services.

Nigeria Has World’s Most Affordable Data Costs - GSMA

United States averages $6 per gigabyte and South Africa with $1.77 per gigabyte rank the highest globally and in Africa respectively.

According to the GSMA, Nigerian data costs, as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, are among the lowest across Africa.

The reports by the body lends weight to telecom operators advocacy for tariff adjustments to address economic pressures threatening the sector’s sustainability.

The GSMA report, titled “The Role of Mobile Technology in Driving the Digital Economy in Nigeria,” highlighted Nigeria’s competitive data pricing, which is significantly lower than other African nations, such as Kenya ($0.59 per gigabyte), Ethiopia ($0.68 per gigabyte), and South Africa ($1.77 per gigabyte).

By contrast, the United States averages $6 per gigabyte, underscoring Nigeria’s advantage in offering cost-effective connectivity.

The cost of mobile data in Africa varies greatly by country and region.

Data costs can refer to the cost of mobile data or the cost of acquiring, maintaining, and using business data.

In 2023, the average cost of 1 GB of mobile data in Sub-Saharan Africa was $3.31, while in Northern Africa it was $0.86.

Telecommunications operators in Nigeria have been requesting some policy changes as well as tariff rebalancing to enable them deliver support to the Government’s digital economy objectives.

They have called for the simplification and improvement of the Right of Way (RoW) charging and administration process, harmonised across the country

According to them, all government authorities (at national and sub-national levels) should apply the national maximum RoW fee of N145 per/LSQM adopted by the National Economic Council (NEC) for the deployment of fibre across all states in Nigeria.

There should be a single point of contact in each state for the RoW application process while the duration for the approval process should be digitalised and limited to a maximum of one month.

Simplification and reduction of the tax burden on the mobile sector

On tariff, recall that the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) had urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to consider reviewing tariffs upward to address rising operational costs.

Nodding in agreement, Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives,  said the proposed tariff hike by telecommunications will help reduce inflation in the country.

He said it would help to reduce inflation because it increases productivity, stressing that the price of MTN shares went up by 10% to 220.

Rewane reiterated that investors had already factored that in, adding that they are expecting a lot of good goodies.

“But more important to think about is the fact that because of an increase in tariff and an increase in investment to make the industry sustainable, they’re going to see an increase in productivity, not directly but indirectly.

“Any increase in productivity and output is likely to allow inflation to moderate, which is the goal. So, we heard from the policymaker, Bosun Tijani, who was very clear that we want a sustainable sector. But we also heard from the regulator saying that we will hold these guys to quality of service.

“We also heard from the operators, MTN that they are all revving up. So in all, there are economic benefits because of increased output and productivity. Two, policymakers are aligned because they want this to lead to a moderation in inflation,” he added.

He further said that it was not a bad deal and re-echoed the minister’s comment that the tariff hike will not be 100 per cent.

“Will they get 100%? No, they will definitely not. We suspect that we are going to likely see something between 40 and 50% which is fair after so many years of static changes,” Rewane added.

 

 

 


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Bismarck, Economist Claims Planned Tariff Hike by Telcos Will Reduce Inflation

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Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives, has said the proposed tariff hike by telecommunications will help reduce inflation in the country.

Bismarck, Economist Claims Planned Tariff Hike by Telcos Will Reduce Inflation

Rewane made this statement on Channels Television’s Business Morning on Thursday.

Recall that Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) had urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to consider reviewing tariffs upward to address rising operational costs.

On January 3, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, said telcos want a 100 percent tariff hike.

According to Rewane, who previously supported the plans for a tariff hike, the move will make the sector more sustainable.

He said it would help to reduce inflation because it increases productivity, stressing that the price of MTN shares went up by 10% to 220.

Rewane reiterated that investors had already factored that in, adding that they are expecting a lot of good goodies.

“But more important to think about is the fact that because of an increase in tariff and an increase in investment to make the industry sustainable, they’re going to see an increase in productivity, not directly but indirectly.

“Any increase in productivity and output is likely to allow inflation to moderate, which is the goal. So, we heard from the policymaker Bosun Tijani, who was very clear that we want a sustainable sector. But we also heard from the regulator saying that we will hold these guys to quality of service.

“We also heard from the operators, MTN that they are all revving up. So in all, there are economic benefits because of increased output and productivity. Two, policymakers are aligned because they want this to lead to a moderation in inflation,” he added.

He further said that it was not a bad deal and re-echoed the minister’s comment that the tariff hike will not be 100 per cent.

“Will they get 100%? No, they will definitely not. We suspect that we are going to likely see something between 40 and 50% which is fair after so many years of static changes,” Rewane added.


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Microsoft to Spend $80Bn on AI Data Centres

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In a bid to build AI-enabled data centres, Brad Smith, vice chair and president, Microsoft has disclosed the company’s plan to spend approximately $80 billion in its current financial year (to end in June), with more than half of that investment designated for the US.

Smith in a blog post, explained the tech giant plans to use the data centres “to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world.”

Smith welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump to his second term in office, he cautioned against “heavy-handed regulations” that could slow down the private sector.

“The most important US public-policy priority should be to ensure that the US private sector can continue to advance with the wind at its back,” Smith stated.

He further explained that the U.S. “needs a pragmatic export control policy that balances strong security protection for AI components in trusted data centers with the ability for U.S. companies to expand rapidly and provide a reliable source of supply to the many countries that are American allies and friends.”

Stating that the US is well-positioned to flourish in its development of AI due to solid technology development and an innovative private sector.

“If the Trump Administration can develop a strong national AI talent strategy and use AI to make the government more effective and efficient, it will put the country on a promising path.”

He stated the U.S. is in a strong position to “win the essential race with China by advancing international adoption of American AI.”

Smith further claimed U.S. “products are more trusted than their Chinese counterparts, and our private sector is unmatched in its ability to invest in infrastructure around the world.”


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