Foreign ICT investments in Nigeria up 310% – Report

Foreign investments in the telecommunication and IT service sectors rose by 310.11 per cent year-on-year to $238.11m in the first quarter of 2023.

Capital importation increased from $58.06m as of Q1, 2022 to $238.11m as of Q1, 2023, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics.

During the quarter under review, IT services witnessed a 79,922.22 per cent growth in foreign investments, growing from $270,000 in Q1, 2022 to $216.06m.

Telecoms recorded a 61.85 per cent decline in investments to $22.05m from $57.79m despite the increasing rollout of 4G and 5G networks.

Total capital importation into the country fell to $1.13bn in the quarter from $1.57bn in Q1, 2022.

Commenting on the foreign inflow, the NBS said, “Disaggregated by sectors, capital importation into the banking sector recorded the highest inflow of $304.56m, representing 26.89 per cent of total capital imported in Q1 2023.

“This was followed by capital imported into the…