On Wednesday, Anshula Kant, the World Bank’s Chief Financial Officer and Group Managing Director, reaffirmed the bank’s support for Nigeria’s proposal to install a 90,000-kilometre national fibre-optic backbone, one of the biggest such projects globally.
She also credited President Bola Tinubu for his “ambitious macro-economic reforms.”
After speaking with Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Kant told reporters, “We are working very, very closely together with this.”
Supports for digital projects
Kant, who was joined by Taimur Samad, the World Bank Group’s Country Manager, stated, “We have a very large programme with Nigeria and, like the Minister (of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy) was saying, one of the biggest upcoming, forthcoming projects will be in the digital space, providing digital, you know, broadband access across the country.”
“And then we have projects in the agribusiness. We have projects in the agribusiness space. We have projects in the energy space. We have projects in the social protection, education, health space.”
She praised Nigeria and the President for “embarking on such ambitious reforms and staying the course,” calling the country a “very, very valuable and important partner” for the World Bank Group.
“They are not easy to do, but already you can see the big improvements and forward momentum that is taking place in Nigeria,” Kant stated.
World Bank’s commitment to end poverty
According to her, the World Bank Group has set out to end poverty on a habitable planet, boost economic growth, and give young people better employment opportunities.
“Access to energy, access to digital services, higher productivity in agriculture, better health and education, these are our shared priorities with Nigeria,” she stated.
After removing fuel subsidies and unifying exchange rates, the administration attempts to stabilise the naira, reduce inflation, and attract investment.
This is Kant’s first trip to Abuja since Tinubu took office in May 2023.
In Africa’s largest economy, the World Bank already manages a $9 billion portfolio that includes social protection, agriculture, and power investments.
Fibre rollout as self-financing project
According to Wale Edun, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Kant’s delegation talked about “the overall partnership” and specifically the fibre rollout, which is being set up as a self-financing special-purpose vehicle and will increase Nigeria’s backbone from 35,000 km to 125,000 km.
“It is geared at the sector which will make use of the facility, pay for it, and therefore make the project highly viable,” Edun told reporters.
The plan, which will encircle every geopolitical zone and supply fibre “into homes, schools, and hospitals,” was dubbed “once-and-for-all” by Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
Private sector to provide 50% funding
According to him, the private sector will provide 51 percent of the funding, with the federal government holding a minority stake.
The World Bank and other development financiers are anticipated to contribute at least $500 million.
“We can’t become smarter with agriculture, scale education or deliver modern healthcare without good connectivity.”
Tijani stated that once comprehensive route maps are released, excavation should begin by the end of the year.
“There are few investments that can add 1.35 percentage points to GDP for each 10 per cent jump in broadband quality,” he added.
He claimed that approval from the Federal Executive Council for a 90,000 km national fibre-optic backbone was obtained with presidential support.
Nigerians frequently lament their lack of connectivity, but he pointed out that the underlying infrastructure determines the quality of the service.
According to him, FG plans to “fix this once and for all” by providing fibre-based connections to residences, workplaces, educational institutions, and medical facilities.
Tijani presented a ring pattern that fills in the spaces in each state and encompasses all geopolitical zones. Fibre will reach nearby neighbourhoods once it is finished, he said.
He said that the government will invest alongside private partners, who will provide 51% of the total funding through a special-purpose vehicle that the World Bank is assisting in setting up.
The project will be self-financed rather than loan-driven because it will be managed independently by the government and will recover costs through user fees.
Since connectivity now supports every industry, he said the rollout is an investment that “will keep giving.”
Strong broadband access to drive growth in healthcare, education, others
He maintained that Nigeria’s healthcare, education, precision agriculture, and creative economy cannot grow without strong broadband.
According to the minister, construction could start before the end of 2025 since the design work is complete and a public route map is expected in two months.
The World Bank’s current Nigeria program includes $500 million for rural roads, $700 million for the education of teenage girls, and $1.5 billion for the recovery of the power sector.
According to Kant, future initiatives will focus on renewable energy, agribusiness value chains, and broadband.
Additionally, the multilateral lender is reportedly co-designing a concessional financing window for small and medium-sized businesses.