NCC Introduces Incentives To Boost Local Smartphone Production In Nigeria

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has announced a package of incentives aimed at promoting the local manufacture of smartphones, tablets and other telecommunications equipment as part of efforts to make digital devices more affordable and increase access to technology across the country.

Chairman of the NCC Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, said the Commission was playing a more proactive role in propelling industrial growth by providing an enabling environment for investors to set up device manufacturing plants in Nigeria.

Policy measures, including tax holidays and streamlined customs procedures, would back the initiative to cut production costs and raise local manufacturing capacity, he said.

“Effective regulation remains very important to make sure that consumers have access to good quality and affordable digital devices,” Olorunnimbe said.

Regulation and market integrity are what make a market affordable in the first place. They are the prerequisite for it. “A phone is only really cheap if it is real, if it is safe, if it works and if it has the warranty the buyer can trust,” he said.

He pointed out that Nigeria has made great strides in communications coverage but the cost of smartphones is still high to enable many citizens access the digital space.

Reducing the cost of devices would complement the ongoing investment in network infrastructure and help bridge the country’s digital divide, the NCC chairman said.

He also called for moving beyond the traditional model of buying phones outright, saying more flexible financing options will make devices accessible to a larger segment of the population.

“Get rid of the idea that a Nigerian has to buy a phone outright, one payment, on the day. “It’s not the way it works anywhere else in the world,” he added.

In the broad-based strategy, locally manufactured smartphones, routers and MiFi devices would be incorporated into the Commission’s digital inclusion programmes, Olorunnimbe said.

He said the gadgets are likely to have embedded links to educational platforms as part of the NCC’s zero-rated education programme, allowing students and other users to access learning materials without paying for data.

In addition, the devices will provide direct access to key government digital services such as civic registration, tax administration and e-health platforms to improve citizens’ access to essential public services.

“It’s not just about increasing access to the internet,” he said, “but ensuring that digital connectivity translates into better educational opportunities, improved public service delivery and greater economic participation.”

The policy is a testament of the NCC’s commitment to the development of indigenous technology and support for Nigeria’s drive for a more inclusive and self-reliant digital economy, the NCC said.