FG plans to use Starlink for job creation. - Dr Bosun Tijani

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has disclosed the plans to create thousands of jobs through initiatives like a certified installer/maintenance programme for Starlink and collaborating with hardware startups to produce repeater boxes locally.

This was disclosed by the minister on X (formerly Twitter), when he mentioned that to the Senior Director of Global Licensing and activation of SpaceX, Ryan Goodnight, on Sunday when they met on the sidelines of the ongoing International Telecommunication Union-World Radio Communication Conference in Dubai.

In his tweet, “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.”

The data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, showed that the firm, which officially launched in Nigeria in January 2023, now has 6,756 wireless Internet subscribers.

Nigeria was Starlink’s first African operational country and 47th globally.