Foreign investment in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has taken a big hit in the second quarter of this year.Â
Only $25.81 million was invested, a huge drop of 494% compared to the $153.50 million from the same time last year.
However, when we look at the numbers from the first quarter of this year, there’s a 17% increase.
In Q2, foreign investment in telecom reached $25.81 million, up from $22.05 million in Q1.
The telecom sector made up 2.51% of the total money invested in Nigeria’s economy in Q2, which was $1.03 billion.
This decline is concerning because Nigeria wants to boost its broadband internet to 70% by 2025.
To achieve this, they need about $3.4 billion in foreign investment for better infrastructure.
One of the problems is that telecom companies are facing too many taxes, making it hard to plan and invest.
They deal with 39 different taxes and charges.
This situation is pushing away potential investors.
Also, the unstable foreign exchange market in Nigeria is scaring off foreign investors.
They worry that currency fluctuations will hurt their profits when they want to take their money out of the country.
Experts say Nigeria needs $100 billion in investments over the next 10 years to improve its telecom infrastructure. But fixing the foreign exchange problem is essential to attract investors.
