Nigeria’s 90,000km fibre project has secured a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) for faster nationwide rollout.

The loan approval was announced by the AfDB over the weekend, and is part of efforts to support the ‘Project Bridge’ (D-VIBE), expand digital skills and drive job creation across the country.

It is expected to expand Nigeria’s fibre backbone from approximately 30,000 kilometres to about 120,000 kilometres by the end of 2027.

The project, which is also World Bank-supported, is expected to connect all 774 local government areas across the country to high-speed broadband.

According to the AfDB, the $200 million loan is part of an $800 million sovereign financing package for the project, alongside $500 million from the World Bank and $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

“Total project financing is estimated at $2 billion, and it includes an EU grant of €22 million, a $2.6 million Multilateral Cooperation Centre for Development Finance (MCDF) project preparation grant, and at least $1.2 billion of investment from the private sector,” the bank said.

Commenting on the development, the Director General, African Development Bank Group Nigeria Office, Abdul Kamara, said: “Nigeria has the talent, the market, and the ambition; what it has lacked is the backbone infrastructure to connect that potential to opportunity.

“D-VIBE changes that. From the north to the south, from farms to factories to classrooms, this investment will make high-speed connectivity a reality for every Nigerian community and give young people the tools to build their futures digitally.”

The project is expected to support the creation of up to 2.8 million jobs over its lifecycle and raise national broadband penetration from 45 per cent to around 70 per cent by 2030.

It will also establish cross-border fibre links with neighbouring countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.

Beyond infrastructure deployment, AfDB said the project would address demand-side constraints through initiatives such as affordable device access, large-scale digital skills development, and support for digital platforms in priority sectors.

It will also promote cybersecurity frameworks, market competition policies, and the adoption of hybrid and renewable energy solutions to improve network resilience.