• Nigeria’s $2bn fiber project reportedly seeks $800m in AFDB-led funding, in addition to the $500m World Bank concessional loan and the government’s $1bn commitment.
• Plan targets 90,000 km of new fiber to expand the national backbone to 125,000 km and boost nationwide digital connectivity.
• Private ISPs lack incentive to invest in rural broadband; public catalytic funding under the BRIDGE project aims to close the gap.

The Nigerian $2 billion optic fiber project is part of the 39 projects showcased at the African Investment Market Day in Rabat, Morocco, where the African Development Bank is hosting the 2025 edition of the Africa Investment Forum. “We are talking of an AFDB lead arrangement to raise $800 million, where the pan-African institution could bring up to $300 million,” said people close to the transaction talks on anonymity, as the discussions are privately held.

On October 7, 2025, the World Bank, which is also a partner to the Africa Investment Forum, disclosed that it was providing a $500 million concessional loan to the project. Other investors mentioned include the European Investment Bank and the Africa Finance Corporation, but they have yet to be confirmed as part of the ongoing discussions. This pledge adds to the $1 billion loan provided by the Nigerian Federal Government to fast-track the launch of the project by the end of 2025, and a $2.65 million grant provided in June 2025 in Beijing -  China, by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF)

The bridge project is expeced to built a modern backbone of national and regional fiber networks, by deploying over 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, extending the national backbone from 35,000 held in majority by MTN Nigeria and Airtel to 125,000 kilometers which is suppose to bring reliable connectivity to all corners of the country and enable Nigeria to harness the opportunities of the digital economy fully.

The outcomes of the Rabat discussion were not made public, but according to one AFDB official who is arranging part of the financing, there are many reasons to be “confident”. The World Bank financing includes a full range of capacity-building and procurement support to facilitate the project rollout.

According to the project Information Document Consulted by the Ecofin Agency, Nigeria faces significant challenges related to broadband access, namely constraints on internet supply to the population. Private internet service operators are more active in urban areas than in rural areas; however, they are willing to scale up investments if significant gaps in broadband infrastructure are addressed.

The World Bank also evidenced that there is no commercial incentive for the private sector to bridge the backbone and backhaul connectivity gap in rural areas alone. However, preliminary analysis and consultations with operators indicate interest if public catalytic funding is provided. FGN plans to offer such funding under the proposed BRIDGE project ».

Idriss Linge