NCC says over 100m SIMs produced locally

The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) says over 100 million Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) has so far been produced locally within a year of the first Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo.

This was made known by Aderonke Sola-Ogunsola, NCC’s Head of Financing and Stakeholders Engagement Team at this year’s AFRICANXT on Thursday in Lagos.

Sola-Ogunsola spoke on: Mandate and Strides Towards Full Digital Economy in Nigeria.

She said that through the Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content of the NCC, the country could serve as manufacturer of SIM in West Africa.

According to her, over 100 millions of SIMs have been ordered by various telecommunications companies putting an end to the importation of SIM and an attainment of a fully digital economy in Nigeria.

Sola-Ogunsola said that at the 2022 indigenous content expo in Lagos, the Federal Government banned the importation of SIMs

She said that the Nigeria Telecommunications Indigenous Content was put in place to encourage innovation among the youths and promote the digital economy.

“There is the need to ensure individuals, businesses, and the nation harness derivable benefits and the opportunities offered by the emergent digital culture, to improve quality of life, grow businesses, and leapfrog the national economy.

“This remains the overarching objective of government policies, plans, and strategies,” she said.

The Head, Digital Skills and Services, NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, said that Nigeria was rapidly becoming a digital economy.

Bruce-Bennett said that out of seven unicorns in Nigeria, Nigeria had five which were Andela, Flutterwave, Interswitch, Jumia and Opay

According to her, NCC is working with campuses and the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) on how youths could build their capacity.

Head, Spectrum Administration, NCC Abraham Oshadami said that digital economy could not exist without infrastructure because globally infrastructure was the bedrock for adequate broadband penetration.

Oshadami said that Nigeria had taken the lead by providing wireless resources because there were policies to deploy the infrastructure and make them work.

According to him, Nigeria has done so well in the entire Africa by being at the forefront of making resources available to provide high dosed broadband leveraging on satellite and technology

It was reported that the ongoing AFRICANXT, formerly called Social Media Week, is an annual event held in February.

This year’s theme is: “Cooperate. Collaborate. Innovate. Unlocking Our Potential, Ensuring Africa’s Prosperity”.