Chief Executive Officer of NatCom Development & Investment Limited, ntel, Mr. Soji Maurice-Diya, says the company is set for a strong market comeback in the first quarter of 2026, with a renewed digital-first strategy focused on innovation and youth inclusion in Nigeria’s telecoms industry.
Speaking in Lagos at the Technology Times Thought Leadership Series, Maurice-Diya said ntel plans to re-enter the market through an “infrastructure-light” model aimed at filling innovation gaps and serving niche consumer segments, rather than competing for mass-market dominance.
“We don’t think there’s been nearly enough innovation in the telecoms space in recent years,” he said. “We are not trying to play in the 100-million-subscriber game. We want to serve a small subset of subscribers extremely well.”
He noted that although Nigeria’s telecoms market has matured over the last 25 years, the next phase of growth will require operators to evolve beyond basic connectivity into digital platforms that power other sectors of the economy.
Maurice-Diya praised long-standing industry players including MTN, Airtel and Glo for sustaining investments that strengthened the industry’s GDP contribution. He also commended ongoing government interventions, including tariff relief measures and plans to deploy 7,000 telecom towers and 90,000km of fibre infrastructure.
The ntel boss emphasized the need for stronger alignment between the telecoms and financial sectors, as well as policies enabling dynamic pricing, tax incentives and local content development.
On regulation, he urged the government to support innovation before introducing restrictive oversight.
“When you over-regulate, you stifle innovation,” he warned.
Maurice-Diya also highlighted ntel’s focus on Nigeria’s youth demographic, noting that the company intends to build digital-driven products tailored to young consumers.
“Between three and four million Nigerians turn 18 every year, this is a huge opportunity,” he said.
He stressed that investor confidence will depend on macroeconomic stability, FX consistency and policy clarity. ntel, originally born out of the former national carrier NITEL, plans to leverage its legacy infrastructure while investing in new digital solutions.
According to him, ntel aims to leave a legacy of innovation-driven impact over the next decade, contributing to a fair and competitive telecoms ecosystem.
The event, hosted by Digital Transformation Media Limited, publishers of Technology Times and eGovernance Nigeria Magazine, brought together policymakers and innovators to discuss the future of Nigeria’s digital economy.