Before joining WATRA, Aliyu ran B999 LTD, a telecommunications and technology strategy consulting firm that he established in 2019. He worked at Ericsson, the global telecommunications equipment manufacturer, for over a decade. The positions he held at Ericsson include Key Account Manager, Head of Network Design and Planning, Head of Network Optimization, Engagement Manager Mobile Broadband and Senior RF Consultant. In these positions, he provided advisory services on business and network strategy, network roll-out, network management and operations, network design, planning and solution, commercial management, and revenue optimization to major telecommunications services operators within and outside Africa. Aliyu has, for almost two decades, occupied strategic positions in which he observed and contributed to the evolution of policy, regulation, and growth of the telecommunications industry in West Africa and beyond.
In 2005, he worked at Ericsson Jakarta, Indonesia as a radio frequency advisor. Aliyu also worked for a total of 4 years at MTN Nigeria where he rose to become Senior Manager, RF Planning; in this position he supported shareholder return by growing radio market share and data revenue and maximizing CAPEX returns and net subscriber additions.
As founder and lead consultant of a consulting firm, Aliyu further honed his expertise in major areas of ICT policy and regulation, including regulatory cooperation, sectoral digital transformation strategies, market & economic analysis regarding digital services, spectrum management, price regulation and interconnection in emerging and developing economies, amongst other relevant areas. The firm focused on working with telecommunications companies to build, expand and optimise services in West Africa. With broad understanding of the technological and regulatory alignment required to drive investment and transformation of the West African digital economy, Aliyu is convinced of the critical role close cooperation and mutual learning amongst regulatory authorities and governments could play in transforming West Africa’s telecommunications & information technology sector.
At WATRA, Aliyu has passionately worked to strengthen the role the organization plays in promoting policy and regulatory innovation and harmonization, thus in accelerating West Africa’s socioeconomic development. Under his leadership, the WATRA Secretariat has accelerated capacity-building and collaboration with National Regulatory Agencies to accelerate broadband penetration and the expansion of universal access and service.
Aliyu earned his B.Eng from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He obtained an MSc in Communication Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2002 and an MBA from the University of Warwick in 2018. and executive education from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has attended many executive education courses including Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, MIT, USA (2019). He has also presented papers on telecommunications regulations and the social and economic impacts of telecommunications policy and regulation at many fora in Africa and Europe.
He is a member of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) and a Member of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
He is married with children.