5G and The Industry : A Case of the Nigerian Financial Technology Sector

Abstract: As globalisation and digitalisation continue to grow, cellular networks have become a mainstay in actualising digital communication, connectivity, access to digital media, and the exploitation of information technologies. 5G, the fifth-generation cellular network, has been anticipated by many to address the communications needs of virtually all sectors of the global economy and is expected to drive completely new services, particularly productisation, within niche markets. This thesis seeks to understand what the evolution of cellular networks in Nigeria can apprise about the possibilities for 5G within the Nigerian financial technology (FinTech) industry. This study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to acquire rich, relevant contextual data. Secondary data obtained from industry reports and repositories were supplemented and triangulated with primary empirical data obtained via semi-structured interviews with the appropriate ecosystem stakeholders and industry actors that were sampled in a purposeful and snowballed manner. Results were obtained and analysed thematically, following which we applied large technological system dynamics and scenario-based theoretical frameworks to understand and map 5G’s possibilities within the Nigerian FinTech space. Our findings reveal five dynamic dimensions relating to FinTech and cellular network development within Nigeria: market dynamics, network dynamics, political dynamics, socio-economical dynamics, and technological dynamics. These dynamics help to elucidate the condensed critical problems of Urbanisation/ rural-urban migration and Government policies and regulations that provide the foundational basis upon which four scenarios could potentially play out in the relevant ecosystem, namely: consolidation and expansion of IT/FinTech operations in major cities; urbanisation for an inflated economy; innovation for a free market; and innovation for a constrained market. However, all scenarios uncover the importance of collective multi-stakeholder action between the network of relevant actors to ensure the actualisation of 5G’s possibilities and its success within the Nigerian FinTech industry and possibly beyond this industry.