Joy Agwunobi
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the launch of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to expand the country's fibre optic cable network by an additional 90,000km to enhance connectivity across Nigeria, building on existing infrastructure.
The project aims to bridge the digital divide by including at least 50 percent of the 33 million Nigerians who currently lack access to the internet. Additionally, it is expected to have a huge impact on the economy, driving GDP growth by up to 1.5 percent per capita,increasing the GDP from $472.6 billion in 2022 to $502 billion over the next four years.
Bosun Tijani,minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, who made the announcement, revealed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the project during its recent meeting in Abuja, noting that the FEC also gave its approval for the establishment of the Nigeria Startup House in San Francisco, a hub aimed at supporting Nigerian startups and entrepreneurs.
Tijani explained that the two projects demonstrate the government's commitment in addressing Nigeria's connectivity and startup funding challenges, sending a strong signal to local tech ecosystem players and investors.
According to the minister, the ministry has been laying the groundwork for the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) over the past few months following models like Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System and Nigeria LNG Ltd, aiming for efficient governance and operations in Nigeria's Public-Private Partnership setups.
Through collaboration with government and private sector partners and stakeholders, the SPV aims to expand Nigeria's fibre optic cable capacity from 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres. He added that the ambitious project will land Nigeria in third place in Africa, behind South Africa and Egypt, in terms of terrestrial fibre optic backbone length, paving the way for enhanced connectivity and economic growth.
The minister explained that the project is expected to increase internet penetration in the country to 70 per cent and reduce the cost of access to the internet by over 60 per cent, adding that the expansion would maximise the potential of the eight existing submarine cables, leading to an increase in data usage beyond the current 10 per cent level.
Speaking further, he noted that this improved connectivity would build on the existing partnership with the Broadband Alliance, addressing the current gap in internet access by connecting over 200,000 educational, healthcare, and social institutions nationwide that would enable more people to access the internet, promoting greater digital inclusion and equality.
