•Secures W’Bank, AfDB, Islamic bank funding
Federal Government is looking at the fourth quarter of 2025 to begin the deployment of $2 billion 90,000km fibre optic cable in Nigeria.

According to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, the support for the project, which is expected to give a fillip to Nigeria’s digital economy, has come from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and Islamic Bank.

Tijani, who spoke in Lagos, revealed that half a billion dollar would come from the World Bank and about $200 million would come from AfDB, while the rest would come from other sources and the Federal Government.

He explained that the project, which seeks to expand the country’s fibre optic backbone from 35,000km to 125,000km and improve access to fast and reliable Internet, would take between three and five years to be completed.

He said Nigeria would need 125,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable to achieve its national coverage goal, and that the project was aimed to ensure that the country utilised its nine submarine cables more effectively by reaching this last-mile coverage.

“As our economy continues to grow, we have more people want to consume telecommunication services. There is pressure on that infrastructure, which is why this government has decided to plug the gap,” he stated.

Tijani noted that upon completion, the fibre backbone would be managed by the private sector.

MEANWHILE, advancement in Nigeria’s digital landscape is expected to reflect in every aspect of the economy. Worldpay’s Global Payment Report 2024 (GPR) has predicteda significant shift toward digital payment methods, with cash payments projected to decline by 32 per cent by 2030.

According to the report, access to financial services in remote areas via smartphones has transformed millions of people’s access to the global economy.

GPR revealed that Nigeria led Middle Eastern and African countries in cash dominance for point-of-sale transactions, accounting for 40 per cent of 2024 PoS value from 91 per cent in 2019.

The report said the use of cash in Nigeria was higher when compared to the MEA region, including Saudi Arabia with 22 per cent in 2024, South Africa (30 per cent), and the UAE (17 per cent).