The increasing need for digital services in Nigeria calls for sustained financing, bankable projects, stable regulatory frameworks and enhanced infrastructure data to bridge connectivity shortfalls and propel the next stage of the digital economy. These points emerged as a principal takeaway from the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum 2026, organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) together with Swedfund and Ookla on 29–30 September in Abuja.
Partners and Experts Discuss Financing Structures
Conducted under the motto “Unlocking Infrastructure Investment through Data, Transparency and Partnerships,” the gathering assembled officials from government, regulatory bodies, investors, development finance institutions, investment banks, institutional investors, telecom operators, infrastructure firms and technology suppliers. Attendees concurred that while Nigeria’s digital-infrastructure potential is large, it demands financing models aligned with the extended service lives of telecom and digital assets.
Such assets often remain economically viable for two to three decades, but projects still struggle to secure funding with adequately lengthy repayment periods. The meeting highlighted that Nigeria’s infrastructure financing grew from under ₦70 billion in 2004 to ₦19.4 trillion by 2025, yet emphasized that mere capital availability does not automatically render digital-infrastructure initiatives financially viable.
The discussion pinpointed good governance, managerial capability, stable policy and independently measured network performance as key to drawing long-term private and institutional funds. Representing investors, Bolaji Balogun, chief executive officer of Chapel Hill Denham, addressed digital-infrastructure financing, stressing the need for bankable projects, suitable financing structures and deeper capital-market involvement. In a separate address, Bismarck Rewane, chairman of FCMB’s board and managing director of Financial Derivatives Company, reviewed the wider economic and financial context for infrastructure investment, showing the relevance of capital cost and availability, investor confidence and policy certainty.
Power and Data for Future Growth
Energy supply surfaced as a key investment concern for the telecom industry. Tower operators view electricity not simply as a running cost but as an essential element of their infrastructure model. They suggested synchronizing energy and connectivity spending, treating tower groups as possible primary customers for locally generated power.
Likewise, insufficient connectivity was flagged as a barrier to expanding data-center capacity and internet services beyond primary cities. Conventional telecom assets need to adapt by incorporating power, fiber, data-center facilities and other components of the digital-infrastructure environment. The use of independent connectivity metrics was presented as a means to lower investor risk. The forthcoming Connectivity Index, a joint effort by the NCC, Swedfund and Ookla, was cited as a possible tool for pinpointing infrastructure shortfalls, evaluating network quality and tracking performance.
Funding for infrastructure ought to be more closely linked to objectively verified network outcomes, whereas initiatives that have not reached commercial readiness should receive assistance via blended-finance and credit-enhancement mechanisms. Development finance institutions were urged to align long-duration digital-infrastructure assets with long-term naira financing and to employ blended structures to commercialize projects that are strategically vital yet financially marginal.
Specific Areas for Investment
Multiple private-sector entry points were identified, including network deployment, neutral-host facilities, telecom sites powered by renewable energy, indoor coverage solutions, metropolitan and access fiber, data-center infrastructure and related fields. Participants are anticipated to pursue financing for community-owned rural networks that rely on renewable power in areas lacking connectivity, with contributions from the Universal Service Provision Fund, state authorities and the Rural Electrification Agency.
Participants are also tasked with building a business rationale for indoor coverage within commercial properties and embedding data-center needs into the National Broadband Plan, leveraging off-grid and renewable power supported by diverse sources. Key objectives involve creating a financing structure for telecom electricity and advancing metro and access fiber under concession models aligned with current assets and integrated with the proposed 90,000-kilometre national fibre backbone.
The NCC announced it would sustain engagement with investors, financiers, government institutions and industry stakeholders to advance the identified investment opportunities and partnership pathways. The event was backed by the Government of Sweden, Swedfund and Ookla.
