AfDB approves $200 million loan for Nigeria’s Project Bridge

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a $200 million loan to Nigeria’s government to advance ‘Project Bridge’, a flagship initiative to deploy 90,000 kilometres of open-access fibre nationwide.

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The loan approval was disclosed in an X statement by the AfDB on Saturday, as part of efforts to support the ‘Project Bridge’ (D-VIBE), expand digital skills and drive job creation across the country.

Speaking on the project loan approval, Director General, African Development Bank Group, Nigeria Office, Abdul Kamara, said the project will serve as a backbone infrastructure for high-speed connectivity to optimise Nigeria’s talent, market, and ambition.

“Nigeria has the talent, the market, and the ambition; what it has lacked is the backbone infrastructure to connect that potential to opportunity. D-VIBE changes that.

“From the north to the south, from farms to factories to classrooms, this investment will make high-speed connectivity a reality for every Nigerian community and give young people the tools to build their futures digitally,” Mr Kamara said.

According to the AfDB, the ‘Project Bridge’, also known as the Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment (D-VIBE) Project, is expected to close connectivity gaps and support productivity and job creation.

Fund approval

The AfFB loan approval is part of an $800 million sovereign financing package for the project.

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PREMIUM TIMES reported in February that the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, secured $500 million from the World Bank and $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), for the Project Bridge.

“I am pleased to confirm the formal approval by the Board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to proceed with a $100 million investment in Project BRIDGE.

“This investment comes in addition to the already approved $500 million financing from the World Bank for the project,” Mr Tijani stated, announcing the fund approval by the global bodies in February.

The innovation and digital economy minister added in the investment announcement that the project also secured a €45 million deal with the European Union Digital Economy Package for Digital Public Services and €5 million to support our 3MTT Nigeria Programme.

The AfDB stated that the project is co-led and supported through a working group of development finance institutions, in order to align with design choices, technical studies, and financing.

Project Bridge

Project Bridge aims to achieve nationwide connectivity by extending Nigeria’s national fibre backbone from around 30,000 km to about 120,000 km, connecting all 774 Local Government Areas.

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This project also aims to serve schools, health facilities, agro-industrial zones, rural communities, and commercial hubs by providing high-speed broadband and establishing cross-border links with neighbours Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.

Beyond infrastructure, the project aims to address demand-side barriers to digital use with affordable devices, large-scale skills development, and support for digital platforms in priority sectors.

It also aims to support enabling cybersecurity and market competition policies while applying criteria, including increased use of hybrid and renewable power, to build resilience.

The AfDB added that the project aligns with Nigeria’s Vision 2050, its National Development Plan, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033).