Nigeria’s ambition to build a competitive digital economy will require sustained investment in telecommunications infrastructure, as rapidly rising data consumption and demand for digital services place increasing pressure on existing networks.
This was the consensus at the maiden Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in collaboration with Swedfund and Ookla, in Abuja.
The two-day forum brought together policymakers, investors, development finance institutions, telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, technology companies and development partners to examine investment opportunities and barriers to expanding digital connectivity across the country.
Opening the forum, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the scale of Nigeria’s digital growth had made investment in resilient and high-quality infrastructure more urgent.
According to him, data consumption rose from about 1.13 million terabytes in July 2025 to approximately 1.66 million terabytes in July 2026, representing nearly 47 per cent growth in one year.
He said the trend underscored the need for substantial investment in network expansion, modernisation and quality-of-service improvements.
“The investment challenge before us is not merely one of expanding coverage. It is also about ensuring that those already connected enjoy better service quality, improved user experiences, and infrastructure capable of supporting future technologies,” Maida said.
He noted that the telecommunications sector’s transformation over the past 25 years demonstrated the impact of sound policy, transparent regulation and investor confidence.
Maida said the liberalisation of the sector and transparent licensing processes had encouraged private-sector participation and driven unprecedented growth in connectivity and communications services.
“The experience of the last two and a half decades underscores the importance of creating an enabling environment for investment. As a regulator, the Commission remains committed to facilitating investment while ensuring consumer protection and promoting fair competition,” he said.
The NCC chief executive pointed to several measures aimed at strengthening the investment environment, including the 2025 telecommunications tariff adjustment, engagements with state governments over Right of Way challenges and the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said these initiatives were designed to reduce deployment barriers, strengthen network investment and improve investor confidence.
Maida also emphasised the importance of evidence-based regulation, saying reliable data would enable the Commission and investors to better identify infrastructure gaps and assess emerging opportunities.
He highlighted the partnership with Swedfund and Ookla, which provides independent data on network performance and consumer experience, allowing the NCC to identify service gaps, monitor network performance and determine areas requiring additional investment.
He also cited the Commission’s Consumer Data Lab, funded by the Gates Foundation and developed with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), as another tool for improving regulatory decision-making. The platform combines Ookla network-performance data, consumer complaints and operators’ intervention reports to analyse connectivity challenges by location and demographic characteristics.
Maida urged local and international investors, development finance institutions, infrastructure providers and other stakeholders to collaborate with the NCC in expanding digital connectivity.
He said the ultimate objective should be to translate infrastructure investment into improved access to services, greater economic opportunities and sustainable national development.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said digital infrastructure had become a critical determinant of a country’s investment climate, competitiveness and capacity to participate in international trade.
Speaking on “Connectivity and Competitiveness: Digital Infrastructure as a Driver of Investment Climate and Trade”, Oduwole said modern trade increasingly depended on infrastructure such as private networks, data centres, digital platforms and secure data systems.
“The future of trade is now digital,” she said, stressing that infrastructure must evolve alongside the changing nature of commerce.
The Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, identified gaps in connectivity coverage, quality, affordability and supporting infrastructure as challenges requiring coordinated action by government, industry and investors.
She said network-performance and user-experience data could help identify investment priorities, reduce uncertainty and strengthen investor confidence, while energy, cybersecurity and digital skills remained essential to a sustainable connectivity ecosystem.
“Sweden is interested in deepening commercial and investment relations with Nigeria, particularly in digitalisation and connectivity,” Westerholm said, adding that Swedish institutions and companies could contribute technology, commercial expertise, development finance, export financing and project-development support.
Also speaking, Tristan Muhader, Vice President of Sales, Middle East and Africa, Ookla, said connectivity had evolved beyond communications to become an essential foundation for economic and public activity.
“Connectivity is no longer simply the channel through which we make calls or browse the internet. It is becoming the operating layer for economic and public activity across sectors, from essential services to AI,” Muhader said.
Representing the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, the Director of the National Frequency Management Council, Adetunji Adeyemo, said reliable, affordable, resilient and accessible digital infrastructure was essential to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
He identified infrastructure, policy and innovation, entrepreneurship and capital as key government priorities.
The forum is expected to deepen dialogue around financing, infrastructure deployment and partnerships required to strengthen Nigeria’s digital connectivity ecosystem.