Business Briefs
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THE federal government has said that the country’s Information, Communications and Technology sector has the capacity to employ 40 million workers across the country. According to the government, the ICT currently employs more Nigerians than the oil and gas sector, and contributes 10 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, the same as the oil industry.
Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications, who disclosed this during an ICT summit in Abuja, on Wednesday, April 20, also announced that the federal government was partnering South Korea on the e-Government initiative. He stressed that the ICT was an inevitable ingredient for socio-economic development, adding that for every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, there was bound to be 1.3 percent increase in the GDP.
Shittu said, “The ICT has come a long way and as of today, it is currently contributing about 10 per cent to the GDP as oil and gas. It is arguably one of the fastest growing sectors of the Nigerian economy and the country is the second largest ICT market in Africa.
“The ICT, which already employs more Nigerians than the oil and gas sector, is poised to drive growth. Industry analysts suggest that the ICT tools and devices, software solution, IT outsourcing and the e-commerce sector alone could employ over 40 million Nigerians and contribute billions of dollars to our economy when appropriately channelled and nurtured.”
— May 2, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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