Photograph — OpenCape

Broadband infrastructure company, MainOne in collaboration with social media giant, Facebook has expended $20 million to develop terrestrial fibre technology in Edo state, Nigeria. The disclosure was made by the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, during an interview after the ninth edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai.

According to the governor, his administration decided to work with tech companies because global economic growth now comes from the digital transactions of digital economies.

“Today, we have an innovation hub, and we are partnering with technology companies … We are constructing about 400 kilometres of fibre in Edo as we speak,” Governor Obaseki said. He also revealed that the project will be ready for commissioning in the next couple of months.

According to Nairametrics, two States in Nigeria – Edo and Ogun – will be recipients of the metro fibre infrastructure project by MainOne and Facebook. The project is meant to deepen broadband penetration in Nigeria and accelerate the digital transformation in these parts of the country.

“With our partnership with Facebook, we have invested in building new infrastructure in states like Ogun and Edo that is open-access and can be used by all operators,” MainOne CEO, Funke Opeke said.

The Chief Executive further explained that the investment in Edo State’s broadband network infrastructure is as a result of Governor Obaseki’s ease of doing business reforms and commitment to boosting productivity through technology.

Other projects ongoing in the state include the building of power plants to boost energy generation. The state government is constructing a 55 megawatts capacity power plant, to complement the Azura thermal power station.

“With electricity and fibre, we are 50 percent there … The global economic growth now is coming more from the digital transactions from digital economies and it’s important that emerging markets key in. So this summit is very apt to profit on our future,” Governor Obaseki added.

This is not the first time MainOne and Facebook will be partnering on a project in Nigeria. In 2017, the connectivity provider and Tizeti (internet service provider) announced the completion of a joint development project with Facebook to enable the expansion of internet services in Lagos state.

The partnership leverages MainOne’s fibre connectivity, Tizeti’s solar-powered towers, and Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi to increase internet accessibility across Lagos Mainland.

MainOne is a Nigerian broadband infrastructure company providing innovative telecoms services and network solutions across West Africa. Since its launch in 2010, the company has developed a reputation for providing reliable services in the development of broadband technology.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow