This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs, financial institutions, companies, and governments. A new edition drops every Monday.
Every time Nigerians buy airtime, renew a data bundle, pay for home broadband, or top up Internet for their businesses, they feed a telecommunication economy that generated ₦7.97 trillion ($5.8 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The telecoms sector is now Nigeria’s fourth-largest economic contributor behind crop production, trade, and real estate, evidence of how connectivity has embedded itself into daily spending.
Total Q1 GDP (Current Market Prices)
₦113.19 Trillion
