Emosim eSim provides borderless connectivity enabling Nigerians to stay connected while travelling to other countries with one sim globally.

The Enosim’s service offers voice, SMS, and data services to Nigerians even while abroad.

Delivering his speech during the launch on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Jimmy Eboma, chairman and founder, Emosim, highlighted the recurring challenges Nigerian travelers and entrepreneurs face while they travel to other countries such as long queues to get a new sim, difficult verification exercise, and inability to connect with family and friends, all of which Emosim is solving.

Eboma, a firm believer in Africa’s unstoppable rise, said he foresees a continent where challenges ignite innovation, and where solutions born here redefine possibilities for the globe.

“Let me paint a picture many of you know too well. Imagine stepping off a plane in Dubai, London, or New York, thinking your phone will be buzzing with calls from loved ones, emails from clients, and instant access to maps to guide you.

But instead of connection, you face silence, roaming charges that drain your wallet, SIM cards that demand hours in foreign queues, and fragmented networks that leave you stranded. For too long, this has been our reality.

Today, that story changes. Emosim is not just a product. It is a revolution built on a simple truth: connectivity is not a luxury; it is a lifeline. With one tap, Nigerians and beyond now activate instant access to the world. No swaps. No shocks. No borders.

“Our Emosim connects you seamlessly across 190 countries with 600 connectivity, turning complexity into simplicity, and frustration into freedom. This is not magic but Nigerian ingenuity, engineered for reliability, designed for you”, he said.

Prof. Umar Danbatta, former executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), highlighted how Emosim’s solution aligns with Nigeria’s communication goal and its contribution to the Nigerian economy.

He said:

“Your work aligns perfectly with the broader strategic goals of the NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications, innovation, and Digital Economy. It also supports the goals of the Ministry of Trade, as digital connectivity increasingly plays a critical role in commerce and economic inclusion.”

Danbatta expressed delight over the uniqueness of the solution for Nigerian travelers as it allows travelers to stay connected without the hassle of changing sim cards, and with a simple QR code scan or app-based activation, travelers can stay connected.

Also speaking, Bayo Adedeji, the group chief executive officer of Wakanow, stressed how the need to stay connected has continuously increased the foreign exchange outflow, emphasizing that Emosim’s solution will contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy, reducing the country’s foreign exchange outflow.

In his words:

“Companies like ours we buy the eSIM from another company outside Nigeria. We bleed foreign exchange to that country. We buy it and then we resell it to travellers living in Nigeria. The Nigerian customer pays me naira. I pay the company that I buy the eSIM from in US dollars.

“Now, with a local organization, having that solution, it’s about 1.5 billion customers at Wakanow.com. It means that I can give that product to 1.5 billion customers and reduce the foreign exchange bleed out that happens in Nigeria.”

On his part, Dr. Jobson Ewalefoh, director general of ICRC, urged the government to create an environment for business to thrive, “to remove the barriers for business to grow, to create new conditions that allow you to be self-sufficient, which has nothing to do with dividing the willies of others, and for them to be able to succeed in what they do”.

“The way Tata, the global giant in telecommunication, has believed in us and has partnered with us, I would like to look at that as a thrust that Nigeria is able to build across the globe, and Nigeria is looked at as an opportunity, and at the same time, seen as one of the leading emerging market countries”.

Also, Tony Agenmonmen, the immediate past President of the National Institute of Marketing (NIMN) congratulated Emosim for coming up with a solution to a common problem that confronts every traveler.

“And the fact that this is coming from a Nigerian company, by Nigerians, of course, with the support of Tata, I think it brings a kind of confidence that good things can come from Nigeria. And indeed, good things can come from our country”, he said.

Vanguard Newspaper Limited, the organizers of the event, has said that Danbatta would receive the award category at a ceremony to be held in Lagos on Friday, January 27, 2022 based on the recognition of the professor’s transformational and inspiring leadership, which brought the effective regulatory regime in the telecoms sector, impacting positively on Nigeria’s digital economy ecosystem.

Alongside other prominent personalities including state governors like Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Abdulraham Abdulrazaq of Kwara, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as well as the Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and other Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in professional excellence and service to humanity, Danbatta will stand tall before Nigerians on Friday to receive his category of award.

Profoundly described as Africa’s Regulatory model, Prof. Danbatta has become a model to other African regulators.

A respectable scholar and distinguished academic, Danbatta has displayed a no-nonsense mien in discharging regulatory functions, yet he is generally viewed in the industry as a calm and calculative leader who takes fair but firm decisions in his drive to steady the Nigerian telecom environment.

This has, no doubt, inspired many African regulators to adopt Nigeria’s model in order to revamp their regulatory activities.

A professor of telecommunications engineering, Danbatta, before his appointment, had been the Acting Vice Chancellor at the Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), and as a lecturer he has supervised more than 60 PhD, M.Eng and B.Eng projects in diverse areas of telecommunications.

Danbatta, however, was not entirely new to the industry before he bacame the NCC boss, as he had a stint at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) an international centre for advanced communications studies established in 2004 by the NCC for capacity building in diverse areas of Information and Communication Technology as the Vice President of the institute.

His first five years in office witnessed an effective regulatory regime through cutting-edge initiatives, strengthening the role of the telecommunications sector as a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Currently leading the charge to achieve the Nigerian National Broad Plan 2020-2025, Danbatta was acclaimed for spearheading the predecessor campaign, which Nigeria attained and surpassed the 30% national target in 2018, from paltry 6% when he took over.

The multiple award-winning professor also midwifed a highly successful 5G spectrum auction last year, while his strides in reviving the Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) and the introduction of harmonized national emergency communication number (112) helped the NCC to win the International Public Relations Association Golden Award in the year 2021, because of a pivotal role they played in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

His stellar leadership style was recently rewarded by the organizers of the prestigious Zik Prize, as they bestowed on him the Zik Prize award for Professional Leadership.

Danbatta earned BEng, MSc degrees from the Technical University of Wroclaw in Poland and received his PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Yet, in spite of his towering achievements, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, remains an epitome of modesty and humility.

The country’s population is an interesting asset to attract foreign direct investment to the Telecommunication industry.

These are contained in Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC’s) presentation on “Realizing the New Set Target of 70% Broadband Penetration”; at ATCON National Strategic Mobilization for the Actualization of National Broadband target of 70% Conference & Exhibition held on Thursday, June 9, 2022 in Abuja on Thursday.

Recent Report shows that Nigeria’s economy recorded a boost in foreign direct investment from the telecoms sector to the tune of N23.982 billion in Q1 of 2022

Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics says the figure represents a 2.6 per cent increase when compared to the same period the year before

The sector drew $944 million in 2029 in comparison with $114.43 million in 2018, recording an annual decline after its 2019 high.

Nigeria’s telecoms sector drew a total of N23.982 ($57.79 million) billion in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2022.

Data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says that the figure represents a 2.6 per cent increase year-on-year in comparison with the N23.356 billion ($56.28 million) recorded in the same quarter of 2021.

A research firm, Agusto & Co in a recent report, forecast that the imminent deployment of 5G technology and the Federal Government of Nigeria’s target broadband entrance rate of 70% by 2025, would attract substantial additional foreign investments to the telecoms sector in the near to medium term.

In a similar report, Absa, a leading pan-African Corporate and Investment Bank that offers its clients innovative advisory and financing solutions across multiple economic sectors, said it is fully aligned with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s aspiration of economic growth and development opportunity associated with the advent of launch of 5G technology in Nigeria.

According to the financial services institution, there are impressive, transformative economic growth opportunities inherent in the adoption of 5G technology as underlined by the Nigerian government’s approval of the National Policy on 5G Networks on September 8, 2021.

Following this approval, the federal government officially launched the policy as the driver of its digital economy agenda in Abuja on January 25, 2022.

Sadiq Abu, the Chief Executive Officer, Absa Nigeria, said the policy would fast track the growth of the country’s digital economy.

“The race to keep pace with the rest of the globe demands urgent policy actions. Therefore, the launch of the national policy on 5G networks is laudable as it provides a fitting platform to drive the rollout of the 5G network on a national scale. Of course, this policy effort will make a difference in how sectors such as education, retail, health, manufacturing, and banking sectors are run with great implications on productivity, job creation, and revenue levels across sectors”, he explained.

Back to Danbatta ’s presentation: With his presentation centered on NCC’s Strategic Activities, Initiatives and Challenge, he said that enabling full connectivity and broadband access for a minimum of 70% of the rapidly growing population is a vision/target that the Nigerian National Broadband plan (NNBP) seeks to achieve and surpass within the time frame of year 2020 – 2025.

The NCC boss recalled that at the launch of the NNBP in 2020, the Broadband penetration, which was largely driven by mobile technology, was slightly below 40%.

“By December 2020, penetration of 45.93% had been attained. As at April 2022, the penetration stands at 42.79%”, he said.

Danbatta said the reasons for fluctuation are quite obvious and that informed the strategic initiatives of the Commission to deepen the penetration of fixed broadband infrastructure which will guarantee very steady broadband services and provide higher capacity.

“The NNBP articulates some critical Priority initiatives aimed at fast tracking the deepening of Broadband penetration across the country.

“It is common knowledge that robust infrastructure is the bedrock of broadband penetration and the main driver of digital economy and telecom market expansion – not to talk of the massive GDP impact, among others”, Danbatta said.

He said, consequently, the NNBP articulated far reaching priority initiatives that include the under listed:

Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)

“The NNBP document anticipates the Issuance of an Executive Order to Declare Telecoms infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and full implementation of the Plan.

“A Broad based Joint Committee under the chairmanship of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has approved the inclusion of telecom infrastructure in the database of Critical National Infrastructure at the ONSA.

“Issuance of Executive Order to Declare Telecoms infrastructure as CNI and full implementation of the NNBP Plan.

Establish a Coordinating body for Optic Fibre Build Out; “to ensure open access, prevent overlap and facilitate RoW issuance at statutory rates”.

Danbatta added that the Commission has setup a Digital Economy Department with a Broadband Unit to oversee and coordinate the buildout of fixed fibre infrastructure across the country.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said that the theme of the Summit: “The Future of Telecom Regulation in Nigeria,” presented a unique opportunity for the Commission to interact with critical stakeholders.

Through such interaction, the EVC said the Commission would be able to brainstorm and migrate to new frontiers of visionary regulations that will galvanise and foster desired growth in the industry.

Danbatta explained that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered political and socio-economic uncertainties globally and underscored the crucial role of digital connectivity in keeping societies functioning, as the online life became, essentially, new way of life.

He stated that with the increased dependence on digital platforms, the theme of the event had become necessary in order to put in place a broader regulatory framework that will enhance and protect the integrity of the industry in the emergent digital economy.

In this context, the EVC said the NCC will continue to diligently pursue the implementation of policy frameworks such as Nigeria National Broadband Plan  (NNBP) 2020-2025; and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 which are consistent with NCC’s regulatory interventions such as the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP), 2020-2024 and Strategic Vision Plan (SVP), 2021-2025, among others.

Danbatta said all the policy and regulatory frameworks principally seek to provide a platform for Nigerian citizens to engage in innovative developments for the telecoms industry and improve the nation’s ability to compete in the ever-competitive global space.

Explaining further on the transformation happening as a result of the expanding spectrum of digital ecosystem, Danbatta said the industry is witnessing new business delivery and breakthroughs due to the expansion of boundaries of digital Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially fintech and e-commerce firms.

The EVC said those consequential ecosystem have contributed to the growth of the Nigerian digital economy riding on telecom infrastructure.

Danbatta aptly reckoned that digital services and contents provided by these SMEs will leverage on broadband infrastructure and the upcoming deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) network being driven by the Commission to deliver more innovative and high-quality experiences to consumers.

“The Commission’s successful auction and licensing of the 3.5GHz spectrum licences in the last quarter of 2021 for the deployment of 5G technology is set to creat many opportunities for the development of the industry and as a regulator, we are conversant with the fact that a dynamic regulatory environment is needed to sustain this industry growth”, Danbatta said.

“Therefore, it has become imperative for us, as critical stakeholders, to appraise the progress made so far as an industry and chart the course for the future of the telecoms industry in the country,” he stated. The EVC also informed that one of the sectors that had been positively impacted by the digital transformation is the financial services sector.

Amplifiying the EVC’s position, in his keynote address titled: “The Future of Telecom Regulation in Nigeria: Challenges of Access to Funding”, Dr. Ademola Sogunle, the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC, asserted that the telecommunications industry had become the sustaining stimulus of the post-pandemic era as consumers’ behaviours continue to shift towards digital trends. Danbatta said that the contribution of the telecom sector continues to benefit the entire ecosystem.

While reviewing resolutions of the first edition of the Summit held in 2019, the Director, Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, Yetunde Akinloye, said the Commission had implemented the recommendations of that meeting among which were Executive Order on Duplicity of Taxes and Levies, and Harmonization of Right of Way (ROW) fees.

She said other recommendations implemented include addressing of interconnect debt, review of the framework on interconnect clearing houses to ensure 10 per cent of traffic is  routed through clearing houses, incentive for small operators as well as monitoring compliance with Code of Corporate Governance.

To sustain the momentum from the previous industry leadership engagement, this year’s Summit provided the Chief Executives of companies in the telecom sector an opportunity to meet the EVC and top Management of the Commission at a roundtable for deeper thinking and greater reflection on the challenges in the sector and proffer meaningful solutions.