Nigeria Secures $126 Million European Backing for National Fibre-Optic Expansion
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union have committed major funding to Project BRIDGE, marking Nigeria's first significant European partnership for digital infrastructure development.
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Nigeria has crossed a threshold in its quest to wire the nation with high-speed internet, securing $126 million in combined financing from European institutions for Project BRIDGE, the federal government's ambitious fibre-optic rollout programme. The commitment represents the first major European backing for the infrastructure initiative, signalling growing international confidence in Nigeria's digital transformation agenda.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved a $100 million investment through its board, according to TechCabal, while the European Union separately granted €22 million to support the project. The dual commitment from Brussels-based institutions marks a departure from Nigeria's traditional reliance on domestic funding and Asian development finance for telecommunications infrastructure.
Project BRIDGE—an acronym whose full form the government has yet to publicly clarify—aims to extend fibre-optic cables across Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, targeting underserved rural and semi-urban communities where internet penetration remains stubbornly low. The initiative forms part of President Bola Tinubu's broader economic agenda, which positions digital connectivity as essential infrastructure alongside roads, power, and water.
The EBRD's involvement is particularly significant. The London-headquartered development bank, which expanded its operations to sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, has historically focused on Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Its $100 million commitment to Nigerian telecommunications infrastructure suggests the bank views West Africa's largest economy as a priority market, despite persistent concerns about policy consistency and regulatory predictability that have deterred some foreign investors.
According to The Nation Newspaper, both the EBRD board approval and the EU grant were confirmed this week, though neither institution has publicly disclosed the precise terms or disbursement timeline. The silence on implementation details raises questions familiar to observers of Nigeria's infrastructure sector: whether the funds will flow as quickly as announced, and whether the institutional capacity exists to deploy them effectively.
Nigeria's telecommunications sector has long been a bright spot in an otherwise challenging economic landscape. Mobile phone penetration exceeds 85 percent, and private operators have invested billions in 4G networks across major cities. Yet the country's fixed broadband infrastructure lags dramatically. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, fewer than 0.5 percent of Nigerian households have fixed broadband connections, compared to mobile broadband penetration of roughly 45 percent.
This infrastructure gap has profound economic consequences. Small businesses in secondary cities struggle to access cloud services. Students in rural areas cannot reliably stream educational content. The digital economy, which the government hopes will contribute 25 percent of GDP by 2030, remains concentrated in Lagos, Abuja, and a handful of state capitals where private operators have found commercial viability.
Project BRIDGE seeks to address this imbalance through a hybrid public-private model. The government will own the fibre-optic backbone infrastructure, but private telecommunications companies and internet service providers will lease access to deliver services to end users. This approach mirrors successful models in Kenya and Rwanda, where state-owned fibre networks have catalysed private sector competition and driven down consumer prices.
The European financing comes at a moment when Nigeria is actively courting foreign investment to offset fiscal pressures. The naira has depreciated significantly against major currencies over the past two years, making dollar-denominated infrastructure projects more expensive. External borrowing, while politically sensitive given Nigeria's existing debt burden, offers the government a pathway to fund large-scale projects without further straining domestic capital markets.
Yet questions persist about execution. Nigeria's infrastructure sector is littered with partially completed projects that ran aground due to funding gaps, contractor disputes, or bureaucratic inertia. The Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan railway, and countless road projects have all experienced years-long delays. Whether Project BRIDGE will avoid similar pitfalls depends largely on the governance structures the government establishes and the oversight mechanisms European partners insist upon.
The EBRD and EU have not publicly commented on conditionalities attached to their commitments, but development finance institutions typically require regular progress reporting, third-party audits, and adherence to environmental and social safeguards. These requirements, while adding complexity, may provide the external accountability that has been absent from previous Nigerian infrastructure initiatives.
For Nigeria's technology sector, the stakes are considerable. Reliable, affordable broadband access would unlock opportunities for software developers, fintech companies, e-commerce platforms, and digital content creators currently constrained by poor connectivity. It would also position Nigeria more competitively as global companies seek African markets and talent pools.
The European commitments to Project BRIDGE suggest that, despite Nigeria's well-documented challenges, international partners still see the country as worthy of substantial infrastructure investment. Whether that confidence proves justified will depend on what happens after the announcements fade and the difficult work of laying cable begins.