ISPON questions software sector’s less than 0.2% GDP contribution

The newly inaugurated President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), James Agada, has questioned the reported contribution of Nigeria’s software industry to the national economy, saying the sector’s economic footprint appears inconsistent with its size and level of activity.

Agada said the software industry reportedly employs more than one million people directly and indirectly and has over 100,000 registered companies, yet the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that the sector contributes less than 0.2% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He raised the concern during his inauguration as President of ISPON’s 2026/2028 National Executive Committee, where he outlined his priorities for growing the local software industry and increasing its contribution to the Nigerian economy.

What the ISPON President is saying

While noting that ISPON currently has about 500 corporate members and 10,000 individual members, Agada said there might have been a miscalculation of the sector’s contribution to the GDP figure.

• “While our sector reputedly employs over a million people directly and indirectly, with more than 100,000 registered companies operating, the latest NBS reports indicate we contribute less than 0.2% to the national GDP. Perhaps this is an undercounting by the NBS,” Agada said.

According to Agada, the significant amount Nigerians spend on foreign software products and services could be one reason the sector’s local economic contribution remains low despite the size of the industry.

• “The licenses, subscriptions, support fees, and service fees we pay outward represent revenue that should be growing our own national GDP,” he said.

Agada attributed part of the challenge to the limited opportunities available to Nigerian software companies, arguing that weak local patronage and inadequate appreciation of domestic capabilities have created a cycle that restricts industry growth.

• “This is the multi-headed monster ISPON has battled since its inception: the growth of our software companies is capped by a lack of opportunity; that lack of opportunity is perpetuated by a lack of appreciation and patronage, and the cycle continues,” he said.

He said other countries have treated software as a strategic sector by deliberately using government patronage to support local companies, provide testing grounds for their products and give them access to the domain knowledge required to build globally competitive solutions.

Agada also identified stronger business models, organisational structures and access to capital as areas Nigerian software companies need to improve to compete more effectively.

ISPON to establish software industry registry

To address the visibility challenge, Agada announced plans to establish a National Software Industry Registry within the next six months.

• He said the registry would document Nigerian software companies, practitioners, innovations and achievements, creating a central repository for the industry.
• Agada said Nigerian engineers had been involved in several significant technology milestones, including the development of banking applications using relational databases, offline ATM card systems, large-scale card personalisation projects and a microprocessor-based telephone switching system.

However, he said many of these achievements and the people behind them had not been adequately recognised or documented.

• “ISPON will begin solving this problem of discovery. Within the next six months, we will launch a National Software Industry Registry to document our achievements and celebrate our own. We will make our industry visible,” he said.

Get up to speed

GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the Information and Communication sector, which includes telecommunications and information services, broadcasting, motion pictures, sound recording and music production, and publishing, grew by 9.62% year-on-year in real terms in Q2 2026.

The sector contributed 11.74% to Nigeria’s total real GDP, up from 11.18% in Q2 2025 and 11.31% in Q1 2026.

However, telecommunications remains the main driver of the sector’s GDP growth and contribution. The subsector’s contribution to real GDP stood at 9.72%, making it the fourth-largest individual contributor to Nigeria’s real economic output during the quarter.

What you should know

ISPON’s concerns about lack of patronage for local software come amid an annual increase in software budgets by the government’s ministries, departments, and agencies.

• Earlier this year, Nairametrics reported that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and nine other federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) were to spend about N24 billion on software-related projects this year.

According to the 2026 budget breakdown, NIMC was expected to spend the largest amount on software by any MDAs with N7.58 billion allocated to the item.