Starlink partnership with Nigeria capable of creating jobs – Minister

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has revealed that Starlink partnership with Nigeria through programs like a certified installer/maintenance program and working with hardware firms to make repeater boxes locally can create thousands of jobs.

The minister said on X (formerly Twitter) that he discussed this 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 Starlink’s largest market in Africa at the moment is Nigeria. He added that he and the SpaceX director spoke about the need to connect underserved and unserved Nigerians as well as the potential for job creation.

He tweeted, “Excellent conversation with Ryan Goodnight, Snr. Director, Global Licensing and Activation of @SpaceX on the sidelines of ITU-WRC 23, who shared that Nigeria is their biggest market in Africa.

“As demand for @Starlink continues to grow in Nigeria, we spoke about the issue of connecting unserved and underserved Nigerians. 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 intention is to encourage every tech company to invest and deepen our tech ecosystem @elonmusk.”

As per the statistics 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.