NIGERIA has issued a bold challenge to global tech manufacturers: build factories on Nigerian soil by November 2026, or miss out on unprecedented government backing aimed at breaking the smartphone affordability barrier.
   
Speaking at the Digital Africa Summit Roundtable in Shanghai, China, the Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, declared that device cost, not network coverage or data pricing is now the single largest barrier keeping millions of Nigerians offline.
   
Despite boasting the continent’s largest mobile market with over 170 million mobile connections and 150 million Internet users, Nigeria faces a critical disconnect between built infrastructure and consumer accessibility.
   
Olorunnimbe argued that the country cannot “import its way out” of this challenge, highlighting the need to transition to domestic manufacturing to shield device prices from volatile foreign-exchange swings.
    
Acknowledging past failures of local assembly plants due to poor quality and low patronage, the NCC chairman emphasized that the new push is strictly for premium, competitively priced hardware.
    
“The aim is to build phones in Nigeria that match the imported phones on quality and beat them on price,” Olorunnimbe stated, extending an immediate, high-level offer to investors. “If any manufacturer in this room… will commit to building a factory in Nigeria, and to beginning construction between now and November, I will take that commitment to the President myself and seek the waivers and the support you need to make it happen.”
   
According to him, this initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, which treats digital connectivity as vital productive infrastructure.
     
He said  It also supports broader sector reforms led by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, and NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida.
    
Beyond local manufacturing, Nigeria is aggressively shifting away from the traditional, cash-and-carry model of phone ownership. The NCC is spearheading a trusted device-finance framework in collaboration with financial institutions, credit bureaus, and telecom operators.
   
This framework leverages Nigeria’s robust National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) ecosystems, effectively eliminating the “trust deficit” that historically blocked consumer credit.
    
According to him, the vision is to see consumers can walk into a mobile operator, pay a modest deposit, and walk out with a quality 4G or 5G smartphone, clearing the balance over 6 to 12 months.
    
Currently, major operators like MTN and Airtel have already launched identity-linked financing schemes, while the Federal Government’s CREDICORP is actively putting devices into the hands of working citizens on credit. This credit model extends across established telcos and newer virtual network operators (MVNOs) like liv.ing, Telewyz, and Lebara.
    
Addressing the regulatory side, Olorunnimbe linked market integrity directly to affordability, arguing that a market flooded with counterfeit and cloned devices forces consumers to pay multiple times for broken promises. He noted that Nigeria’s massive grey market is a symptom of high tariffs and thin formal distribution channels, rather than just a legal issue.
   
To combat this, the NCC has refreshed its Type Approval Regulations and is advancing a high-tech Device Management System to track and block stolen, counterfeit, or non-approved hardware.
  
Closing his remarks, the NCC Chairman urged African regulators to harmonize type-approval standards, share counterfeit registries across borders, and pair every device strategy with a financing framework.
   
 According to him, by treating consumer safety and financial inclusion as two sides of the same coin, Nigeria aims to bridge the digital divide for tens of millions of citizens across the continent.