The Nigerian telecoms sector attracted a huge Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the third quarter of 2025, according to data new from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The latest capital importation data by NBS showed that FDI into the telecom sector rose to $208.51 million in Q3 2025, a drastic increase from $14.74 million recorded in Q3 2024, representing more than a fourteenfold year-on-year jump. The increase showed a 1,314.59 percent rise from Q3 2024 and the same period a year after.
This leap signaled renewed investor interest after a weak performance in the corresponding period of 2024. It would be recall that at the beginning of 2025, investment into the sector stood at $80.78 million in Q1 before rising to $103.63 million in Q2, culminating in the stronger Q3 performance. From January to September 2025, the sector attracted $392.92 million, surpassing the $319.72 million recorded in the same period of 2024.
This showed an increase of 22.9 percent, suggesting that despite quarterly fluctuations, overall foreign investment momentum improved in 2025. Further analysis of the data showed that capital importation into telecoms reached $191.57 million in Q1 2024, dropped to $113.42 million in Q2, and collapsed to $14.74 million in Q3.
The sharp recovery in Q3 2025 therefore marked a reversal of the slump seen a year earlier, though inflows have yet to return to the peak levels recorded in early 2024. Analysts believed that recent development in the sector might have triggered this level of investments. This includes the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved 50 per cent tariff adjustment of January 20, 2025, coming 11 years after the last hike.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, had disclosed that some regulatory interventions triggered fresh investment of about $1 billion into the sector by the telcos after getting the tariff hike. According to Maida, the investment was to ensure upgrades of existing telecom infrastructure, expansion into new areas, and deployments of 4G and 5G networks.
According to the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the tariff adjustment spurred operators to re-invest the additional revenue into enhancing network quality, expanding digital access, and delivering a better customer experience.
