The African Development Bank has approved a $200 million loan for a major Nigerian digital infrastructure project designed to extend high-speed broadband across the country, in what officials say could become one of the largest fibre backbone expansions in Africa. The initiative, known as the Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment (D-VIBE) project, will deploy 90,000 kilometres of open-access fibre and expand Nigeria’s national backbone from about 30,000 kilometres to roughly 120,000 kilometres, with the goal of reaching all 774 local government areas.
According to the African Development Bank, its financing forms part of an $800 million sovereign package for the project, alongside $500 million from the World Bank and $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Total project financing is estimated at about $2 billion and also includes a €22 million European Union grant, a $2.6 million Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance project preparation grant, and at least $1.2 billion expected from private investors.
The project will be implemented through a public-private partnership structure using a special purpose vehicle in which private investors are expected to hold the majority stake, while the Nigerian government remains a minority shareholder. Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy says this model is meant to reduce some of the biggest barriers to fibre rollout, including high construction costs and right-of-way charges that have slowed network expansion for years.
Beyond expanding internet access, the government and its development partners are pitching D-VIBE as an economic transformation project. The AfDB said the initiative is expected to raise broadband penetration from about 45% to around 70% by 2030 and support the creation of as many as 2.8 million jobs over its lifetime. The ministry’s Project BRIDGE framework, which overlaps with the same national fibre expansion push, says the network is intended to connect schools, hospitals, businesses and underserved rural communities, while also strengthening cross-border digital links with neighbouring countries.
AfDB’s Nigeria director-general, Abdul Kamara, said limited digital infrastructure has long held back the country’s growth potential, despite Nigeria’s large population and fast-growing technology sector. The latest approval suggests international lenders see backbone connectivity as central not only to digital inclusion, but also to jobs, productivity and public service delivery in Africa’s biggest economy. The real test now will be execution: whether Nigeria can translate ambitious financing commitments into cables in the ground, lower broadband costs and reliable access far beyond its major cities.
