How SIM card manufacturer CardCentre grew to ₦4.9bn revenue in two years

When Nigeria barred the import of SIM cards in 2022, a Lagos-based maker of bank payment cards saw an opening. Two years later, CardCentre Nigeria Ltd. (CCNL) has turned that policy shift into a new revenue stream worth ₦4.9 billion ($3.2 million) in 2024, positioning itself among the country’s few domestic telecom manufacturers.

For much of its history, the 21-year-old CardCentre was best known for supplying payment cards to banks nationwide. But in 2021, spotting a new frontier in telecoms, the company pivoted into SIM card production. 

“We got our first order (from MTN Nigeria) in December 2021, but supply didn’t start until August 2022,” recalls Lekan Latona, CCNL’s Managing Director and CEO. “What we do is assemble: the Integrated Circuit Card—what people call a SIM—is imported from our technical partner, while the card body and integration happen here in Lagos.”

That partner is Beijing Huahong IC Design Co., Ltd. (BHDC), one of China’s top semiconductor firms. The collaboration mirrors Nigeria’s local content framework: pairing foreign expertise with indigenous production. “We are essentially an assembly plant,” Latona says. “The chips arrive, we embed and package them, then deliver directly to telcos like MTN and Airtel.”

Policy as a growth catalyst

Nigeria’s journey to 100% local SIM card manufacturing began in July 2022, when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), through its indigenous development office, the Nigeria Office for Development in the Indigenous Telecommunications Sector (NORDIT), banned SIM card imports. The decision was part of a broader national strategy to deepen local capacity, reduce foreign exchange demand, and create jobs.

Today, every SIM card in Nigeria is produced locally by four firms: CardCentre, SecureID, Cardstel, and RYT SIM Cards. Together, their Lagos factories can turn out more than 200 million cards a year, supplying a market worth over ₦55 billion ($35.95 million) and shifting the country from reliance on imports to domestic manufacturing.

The policy framework also gave local producers a significant cost advantage. As Latona explains, “There is a 66% duty if you import a finished integrated circuit product. That means from day one, local manufacturers are more competitive. Multiply that by millions of SIM cards, and the savings are enormous.”

Surging revenues and capacity expansion

CardCentre’s revenue trajectory reflects how quickly local manufacturers have adapted to demand. In 2022, the company delivered about 2.5 million SIM cards, generating ₦419 million ($273,856). In 2023, with capacity upgrades, deliveries surged, lifting revenue to ₦1.39 billion ($908,497). By 2024, after further scaling production to 3 million SIMs per month, CardCentre cleared its backlog of telco orders and posted ₦4.9 billion ($3.2 million) in revenue.

“The growth was largely about clearing pending orders,” Latona says. “Once we increased our capacity in January 2024, we could match whatever demand was given to us within the year. That allowed us to recognize more revenue.”

CardCentre now produces about three million SIM modules monthly and 5,000 bank cards daily, with plans to lift card output to 100,000 daily by year-end.

SIM technology has applications far beyond mobile phones. The integrated circuit (IC) embedded in telecom SIMs is nearly identical to the chips used in banking cards, ATMs, and POS machines. Nigeria’s fintech boom has benefited from local IC-based solutions, but Latona believes the next wave will come from the Internet of Things (IoT).

“We’re already seeing IoT innovations—car trackers, smoke detectors, burglar alarms—that rely on SIM technology,” he said. “We have a small unit looking into IoT because it’s only natural. If we’re supplying ICs today, the next step is to explore how these modules can power Nigeria-friendly IoT solutions.”

The challenges of local manufacturing

Despite its success, CardCentre’s journey has not been without hurdles. The most pressing challenge has been foreign exchange. With critical inputs priced in dollars, exchange rate volatility has strained operations. 

“When we started, sourcing dollars was almost impossible. Imagine having a ₦3 billion contract but being allowed to access only $25,000. It slowed us down,” Latona recalls. “We’ve also taken hits where we began projects at ₦600/$1 and completed them when the rate was over ₦1,000/$1. That wipes out margins.”

Other challenges include the cost of expatriate expertise. At one point, CardCentre had eight Chinese engineers on-site, and the need for continuous investment in high-precision machines. But the company has used these pressures to build local capacity. Nigerian engineers, trained alongside foreign experts, are now running production lines with growing independence.

Positioning for regional expansion

While Nigeria remains the primary market, CardCentre plans to expand across Africa. MTN and Airtel, its major Nigerian clients, operate across the continent and provide a natural entry point into new markets. 

“Once you can do business with MTN in Nigeria, they can recommend you elsewhere,” Latona says.

The company has already bid for contracts in Angola and is steadily building international visibility. “We missed out on one deal due to pricing, but we’re knocking on doors,” he adds. “Nigeria’s cost of production is low, so eventually it will pay foreign operators to look our way.”

Nigeria’s new manufacturing reality

With 172 million active SIM subscriptions as of August 2025, Nigeria’s telecom market remains robust despite regulatory disruptions such as SIM-NIN linkage enforcement. Every active line relies on a SIM card, underscoring the strategic importance of local manufacturing.

For CardCentre, the rise from ₦419 million to ₦4.9 billion in two years highlights its rapid growth and Nigeria’s push for self-sufficiency. “The potential to be number one in Africa is there,” Latona says. “It’s just about growing capacity, training local talent, and seizing opportunities as they come.”

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