The Federal Government is seeking about $1.2 billion in private capital for its planned 90,000-kilometre nationwide fibre network. The project moves towards physical deployment in October with a newly incorporated company set up to drive implementation.
Official records show that $800 million of the estimated $2 billion cost has been covered by sovereign financing commitments. The $800 million comprises a $500 million World Bank facility approved in October 2025, a $100 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved in February 2026, and a $200 million African Development Bank loan approved in April.
The private capital is not a funding requirement that must be met before implementation can start. It forms the larger remaining portion of the project’s estimated $2 billion capital envelope, which the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, pitched in 2024.
Strategic Communications Adviser to the Minister, Osibo Imhoitsike, said Project BRIDGE had attracted substantial support from international development finance institutions. “The government has received a significant private sector investment offer as part of the PPP structure, and that process is currently being concluded,” Imhoitsike said.
The minister confirmed in August that physical rollout was expected to begin in October. The October date follows the incorporation of Bridge Open Access, or Bridge OA, in August as the special-purpose vehicle for the project.
Telecom consultant Ejike Onyeaso said the establishment of the company signalled that the project was moving into its implementation phase. “The industry is really looking forward to that because it will help reduce costs for not just mobile network operators but also internet service providers that rely on fibre,” Onyeaso said.
The project is designed to take the national network from the current 35,000km to roughly 125,000km. The World Bank said the programme would help close the country’s digital divide by expanding affordable, high-speed broadband to communities that remain unserved or underserved.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said access to fast and reliable internet would create more quality jobs across all 774 local government areas.
Winners and Losers
Winners: Mobile network operators and internet service providers, who will gain access to cheaper fibre infrastructure. Underserved communities, which stand to gain broadband access. The Federal Government, which leverages private capital for public infrastructure.
Losers: Incumbent operators that have resisted open-access infrastructure. Taxpayers, who remain exposed if the private capital does not materialise. The informal sector, which may not benefit directly from formal broadband expansion.
Bottom Line: Fibre is the backbone of the digital economy. The government has the financing. The test is whether the rollout reaches the communities that need it most