“Currently, it is very hard for a Nigerian bank to give you a more than three year tenure of facility and that means there is a mismatch in between how Nigerian banks deploy their funds and the type and terms of facilities required by Information and Communications technology (ICT) projects. And that is why we say, ICT bank should be one approach to addressing the issue of loan facilities with flexible tenure and rates to grow the sector”.
These were the submissions of the President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Engineer Olusola Teniola in an exclusive interview in Lagos on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that multinationals in the sector have the advantage of securing international facility from climes where rates are as low as two to three over a long period of years which will encourage investments’, but such windows are far from Nigeria as least interest rate one can get in a bank is not encouraging to do more. Currently, some Nigerian banks charge as high as 26 to 29 per cent.
Explaining more, Teniola averred that “The multinational or mega telecoms operators always have the advantage of accessing loans at a low level rate of two or three per cent abroad, however, here in Nigeria, its double digit and at dagger point terms and conditions”.
“We all aware that ICT contributes about nine per cent to the GDP and it’s a fact that our lives now depend on ICT largely. I think for now becoming a critical part of our lives and economy, it is basic we go for an ICT bank to sustain and grow the industry.
“There have been calls in the past for an IT bank to be created and today, the calls are getting stronger. Government and stakeholders need to understand that the time we are now in our national live is all about infrastructure development.
“Infrastructure based development is capital intensive in nature and need longer tenure of loan facilities which many commercial banks are not ready to offer,” Teniola, ATCON boss submitted.
