Nigeria approves 90,000 km fiber optic expansion and San Francisco startup hub to boost digital economy.
Nigeria's Federal Government has approved two major projects to boost the country's digital economy and support technology startups. The first project involves deploying 90,000 km of fiber optic cable in partnership with the private sector, increasing the country's total fiber optic cable to 125,000 km, making it the third-longest terrestrial fiber optic network in Africa. This project aims to address the underutilization of the country's eight submarine cables, improve internet quality, reduce prices by about 60%, and contribute to a 1.5% growth in Nigeria's GDP over the next four years. The second project involves converting the Nigerian property in San Francisco, USA, into a Nigerian startup house, providing a hub for Nigerian technology startups to access funding and investors in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.