MTN CEO at TECH+: ICT sector can power Nigeria’s economic growth

Mr Micheal Ikpoki, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria today told attendees at TECH+ Conferences and Expo in Lagos that the information and communication technology (ICT) sector can power the nation’s drive to become a major global economic power.

Ikpoki, the MTN Nigeria CEO, the largest mobile telephony company in the country says that the tech sector is a critical contributor to GDP, and can play a key contributory role in further powering the economy.

According to him technology has been the driver of growth of developed countries in the world as diverse tech solutions now make it easier for people to reach out to themselves “with just a click of the button.”

The MTN Nigeria CEO, who also commended oragnisers of TECH+ says the maiden edition of the two-day conferences and exhibitions will be an eye-opener for many Nigerians to know how to leverage technology in their everyday life.

“Our oil and gas sector is 75 per cent of our Federal Government revenue and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings and just 12 per cent of the GDP. So, how do we power other sectors. We can only do that with technology by coming up with relevant apps that make us do business better. That’s what we will be doing in TECH+ because that will create a platform for us to improve on our economy.” Mike Ikpoki, CEO of MTN Nigeria

Mike Ikpoki, CEO of MTN Nigeria, delivers the keynote presentation today at TECH+ Conferences and Expo, which opened in Lagos

“To us as a company TECH+ is important to us because it creates a platform where we don’t just talk about technology, but create ideas where people can learn what’s going on in the technology space” Ikpoki says at the event that attracted attendees cutting across various demographics.

”We want TECH+ to be a place where we learn everything about technology and createplatform for young people, SMEs and general product and services that will add value to the development of our society. And this is why MTN is poweringTECH+”, he adds.

According to him, “we believe there are a lot of innovation locked up in our environment, so we need to create a platform to unlock them and we believeTECH+ will provide that opportunity.”

The MTN Nigeria CEO also announced the launch of its latest innovation, the new MTN token, a service that enables a single platform for online verification of all online transactions.

Ikpoki challenged the entrepreneurs and the Nigerian business community to follow suit and “come up with entrepreneural ideas to help move our dear country forward.”

According to him, with market information provided by the telecoms umpire, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on the contribution of the ICT to GDP, he observed that the figures may actually not truly reflect the input of the tech sector input to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“ICT contributes 12 per cent to the GDP according to market information provided by the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC). To me, 12 per cent is not a far indication of that because that is more of an output measure. But if we look at what technology enables us to do, it means with technology, we can grow all sectors of the economy”, Ikpoki adds.

Ikpoki says that, “our oil and gas sector is 75 per cent of our Federal Government revenue and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings and just 12 per cent of the GDP. So, how do we power other sectors. We can only do that with technology by coming up with relevant apps that make us do business better. That’s what we will be doing in TECH+ because that will create a platform for us to improve on our economy.”

According to him, TECH+, “will help us build a robust innovation partnership that will help us build robust innovation partnerships that will help us build and develop various sectors of the economy and provide meaningful employment for young people.”

The MTN Nigeria CEO says the mobile phone company will definitely live no stone unturn to ensure it is contributing its quota to development of digital technology in Nigeria because it is apt to the business’ bold initiative to usher in a digital world.