The NCC is pushing manufacturers to set up local smartphone factories in Nigeria, promising presidential waivers and incentives to firms that break ground before November.
Nigeria wants to start making its own phones — and the NCC is dangling some sweet incentives to get it done. According to Punch Newspapers, NCC Governing Board Chairman Idris Olorunnimbe pushed for local smartphone production at the Digital Africa Summit Roundtable in Shanghai, China, calling it the most sustainable fix for Nigeria’s device affordability problem.
Olorunnimbe promised to seek presidential waivers and incentives for manufacturers willing to start factory construction in Nigeria before November. Local production, he said, would cut import dependence, shield the sector from forex shocks, create jobs and boost local value chains.
But he didn’t sugarcoat the standard: locally made phones must match imported devices in quality while beating them on price. Nigerians, he stressed, shouldn’t be asked to settle for less.
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