Stakeholders advocate long-term financing, improved power supply to accelerate digital connectivity, investment in Nigeria

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.

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 recently.

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.Nigeria Digital Economy

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.Communication Technology Solutions.

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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.