According to Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, projects like a Starlink certified installer/maintenance program and partnerships with hardware startups to manufacture repeater boxes locally have the potential to generate thousands of jobs.
The minister said on X (previously Twitter) that he discussed it with Ryan Goodnight, Senior Director of Global Licensing and Activation of SpaceX, during their Sunday meeting outside the International Telecommunication Union-World Radio Communication Conference, which is currently taking place in Dubai.
Tijani revealed that Nigeria was currently Starlink’s largest market in Africa and that he had a conversation with the director of SpaceX about the possibility of generating new jobs as well as the problem of connecting underserved and unserved Nigerians.
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“Excellent conversation on the sidelines of ITU-WRC 23 with Ryan Goodnight, Sr. Director, Global Licensing and Activation of @SpaceX,” he tweeted. “He shared that Nigeria is their biggest market in Africa.”
“We discussed the issue of connecting underserved and unserved Nigerians as the demand for @Starlink grows in Nigeria.
I also mentioned the possibility of creating thousands of new jobs in Nigeria through initiatives like a certified installer/maintenance programme for Starlink and working with hardware startups to produce repeater boxes locally. Our goal is to inspire all tech companies to make investments and expand the tech ecosystem led by Elon Musk.
As per the data provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission, the company, which formally began operations in Nigeria in January 2023, currently boasts 6,756 users of wireless Internet.
Nigeria was the 47th country in the world and the first in Africa where Starlink operated.