Meta’s 2Africa sublease cable is expected to arrive in Nigeria in February, targeting one million digital jobs beginning in two major Nigerian cities, Lagos and AKwaIbom.
While inaugurating the new American Corner in Lekki, Lagos, United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken affirmed this in Lagos.
According to Blinken, American businesses are helping President Bola Tinubu reach his aim of generating one million digital jobs, and the cable project is just one example.
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Many consider the 2Africa subsea cable, which spans 45,000 kilometres, to be the longest of its kind in the world. After finishing its circumnavigation of Africa, the deep-sea cable project is anticipated to touch down in two cities in Nigeria: Lagos and AKwaIbom, a river town in the southeast.
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What Blinken shared
According to Blinken, who described the impact of American businesses and interests on the Nigerian economy, over 25% of the venture capital funding that goes to Africa comes to Nigeria.
However, the U.S. Secretary of State said challenges must be addressed to make Nigeria the most attractive business environment. He reportedly raised the matter during his meeting with top Nigerian government officials.
Blinken stated that opening American Corners in Nigeria would enhance ties between the US and Nigeria. He said this would spur more technological innovation and, by extension, the technological revolution.
As per the US Secretary, the American Corner in Lekki is anticipated further to solidify the extraordinarily dynamic relationship between the two nations. With twenty-five locations in twenty-one cities and four thousand four hundred programs reaching one hundred thousand Nigerians annually, Nigeria boasts more American Spaces than any other African nation.
The American Corner will provide classes on a wide variety of topics, including coding and business [ez-toc]plan writing. The services will also include 3D printing, robotics equipment access, podcasting studios, video recording, and podcasting. The foundation of their work is a deep understanding of innovation and the fact that Nigeria represents an amplified form of innovation.
He went on to say that the United States government has a new initiative with all the Atlantic bordering countries called the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation. This group comprises thirty-two coastal Atlantic countries, including Nigeria, and aims to foster a stable, sustainable, and prosperous Atlantic region.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the Nigerian Marine and Blue Economy hackathon was being organised in collaboration with the U.S. Congress and the U.S. mission in Nigeria.
He claimed this would unite students, businesses, and the government to find answers to pressing environmental and economic problems, such as how to harness the power of ocean currents or how to reduce plastic pollution.
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About the 2Africa undersea cable
Connecting Europe (via Egypt) and Asia (via Saudi Arabia) with Africa, 2Africa is one of the biggest subsea cable projects in the world, measuring 45,000 km in length. Launching in 2023, the system has a design capacity of up to 180Tbps, more than all subsea cables currently serving Africa.
In addition to meeting the rapidly increasing demand for capacity in the Middle East, 2Africa will provide much-needed internet capacity and reliability across much of Africa, paving the way for the expansion of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for billions of people.
At 2Africa landings, service providers will have an equal opportunity to acquire capacity in carrier-neutral data centres or open-access cable landing stations. Because of this, both companies and consumers will have far easier access to the Internet, which is good for ecosystem development.
Partners in the construction of 2Africa, the most extensive subsea cable to service Africa, include Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Vodafone, Telecom Egypt, and China Mobile International. The project was embarked on May 14, 2020.