Stakeholders at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026 have called for long-term financing, improved power supply and coordinated infrastructure planning to accelerate digital connectivity and investment in Nigeria, ravenewsonline reports.
The stakeholders made the call at the two-day forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla, in Abuja on Sept. 29 and 30.
The forum, themed “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships,” brought together government officials, regulators, investors, development finance institutions, operators, infrastructure providers and technology companies.
The participants said the growing demand for digital services required urgent investment in fibre infrastructure, data centres, power and other critical digital infrastructure.
They noted that Nigeria consumed about 1.6 million terabytes of data in July 2026, representing an increase of almost 47 per cent in 12 months.
They also projected that subscriptions could rise from about 195 million to 350 million within the next 10 to 15 years, with cloud computing and artificial intelligence expected to further increase demand for networks, data centres and electricity.
The stakeholders said telecommunications and information services accounted for 9.72 per cent of Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2026.
They also noted that mobile technology contributed about 240 billion dollars to Africa’s economy in 2025.
The forum observed that although mobile broadband coverage had reached about 90 per cent of Nigerians, smartphone ownership stood at about 27 per cent, while broadband penetration was 57.4 per cent, against a national target of 70 per cent.
It identified device affordability, digital skills and trust as major constraints to meaningful connectivity, stressing that expanding network coverage alone would not bridge the digital divide.
The participants also highlighted the importance of independent connectivity data in reducing uncertainty for investors.
They said the collaboration between the NCC, Swedfund and Ookla provided granular information on the connectivity experienced by Nigerians and could help identify location-specific infrastructure constraints.
They recommended that connectivity interventions should be screened nationally, validated locally and independently verified after implementation.
The forum further identified power and middle-mile connectivity as major constraints to digital infrastructure deployment.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of the forum, the cost of inland connectivity was limiting data centre and internet service investment largely to a few metropolitan areas.
It recommended that energy and connectivity investments should be planned together, with tower clusters recognised as anchor off-takers for distributed power generation.
The stakeholders also stressed the need to align infrastructure financing with the long lifespan of digital assets.
They noted that digital infrastructure could have an asset life of between 20 and 30 years and therefore required financing structures longer than the typical five-year bank tenor.
The forum noted that infrastructure financing in Nigeria had grown from less than 70 billion naira in 2004 to 19.4 trillion naira in 2025.
It, however, stressed that access to capital depended on good governance, management capacity and policy predictability.
The participants further said state-level policies had a direct impact on the pace of digital infrastructure deployment.
They cited the pilot Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index across 12 states, which showed that Right of Way reforms had translated into fibre growth of between 22 per cent and 95 per cent in reforming states.
They also noted that 12 states now charged zero Right of Way fees, compared with seven in December 2024.
The forum identified shared rural networks, satellite services delivered to unmodified handsets, micro-cabling, solar-powered rural sites and local manufacturing of devices and SIM cards as emerging models capable of reducing deployment costs.
It stressed, however, that such models would not eliminate the need to make affordable devices available to users.
The stakeholders called on the Federal Government to accelerate Project BRIDGE, the proposed 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone, as a strategic response to the middle-mile connectivity gap.
They also urged the government to improve the availability and reliability of power for digital infrastructure, sustain policy consistency and support financing structures capable of reducing the cost of capital.
The NCC was urged to sustain reforms aimed at improving investment conditions, including tariff realignment, designation of critical national information infrastructure and engagement with states on Right of Way.
The commission was also urged to publish the first national Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index report, advance open-access and wholesale regulation, and finalise the direct-to-device framework.
State governments were urged to reduce and harmonise Right of Way and site permit charges, adopt the federal model requiring operators laying fibre to reinstate roads, and shorten permitting timelines.
Operators, infrastructure companies and technology firms were encouraged to pursue shared infrastructure and neutral-host models to reduce the cost of rural and indoor coverage.
They were also urged to complement coverage investments with measures to make affordable devices available to users, including locally manufactured devices and SIM cards.
Investors and development finance institutions were advised to match long-life digital infrastructure assets with long-tenor naira capital.
They were also encouraged to link infrastructure funding to independently verified network performance and deploy blended financing and credit enhancement for projects that were not yet commercially ready.
The forum agreed on a number of priority actions to be implemented within specific timelines.
Within six months, stakeholders are expected to secure funding for community-owned rural networks powered by renewable energy in zero-connectivity communities, through partnerships involving the Universal Service Provision Fund, state governments and the Rural Electrification Agency.
Within six to 18 months, stakeholders are expected to issue open-access and wholesale regulations, publish a wholesale rate card and complete broadband mapping.
They are also expected to provide regulatory backing for the Universal Service Fund as the primary source for underserved-area projects, supported by blended public and multilateral funding.
Other actions within the period include developing a business case for indoor coverage in commercial buildings and incorporating data centre requirements into the National Broadband Plan, with off-grid and renewable power supported by blended finance.
Within 18 to 24 months, stakeholders are expected to establish a financing framework for telecommunications power, standardise energy provision through regulation and bring it within critical national information infrastructure protection.
They are also expected to develop metro and access fibre under concession, mapped against existing infrastructure and integrated with Project BRIDGE.
The participants said the major barriers identified at the forum — cost and tenor of financing, Right of Way and permitting constraints, the cost and reliability of power, and gaps in trusted infrastructure data — were interconnected and required coordinated action.
The NCC consequently pledged to sustain engagement with participants and other stakeholders to advance the agreed actions and investment pathways.
The forum was attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; a representative of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; the Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria; heads of federal agencies; development finance institutions; investment banks; institutional investors; mobile network operators; tower and fibre companies; satellite and fixed wireless providers; original equipment manufacturers; industry associations; and NCC management and staff.
Among the key speakers were Mr Bolaji Balogun, Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, who spoke on financing digital infrastructure, and Mr Bismarck Rewane, Chairman of the Board of FCMB and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, who discussed the broader economic and financial environment for infrastructure investment.
Balogun emphasised the need for investable projects, appropriate financing structures and capital-market participation to attract long-term private and institutional capital.
Rewane highlighted the importance of the cost and availability of capital, investor confidence and policy predictability, as well as the role of digital infrastructure in driving productivity and economic growth.
The participants expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, the ministers, the Government of Sweden, Swedfund and Ookla for their partnership, and the NCC Board, Management and staff for convening the forum.
