The European Union has committed an additional €45 million to Nigeria’s digital economy, strengthening cooperation between both partners and accelerating plans to expand broadband infrastructure, digital public services and skills development.
The funding agreement was signed at the EU–Nigeria Digital Open Day in Brussels by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela. The new investment completes the EU Digital Economy Package for Nigeria under the Global Gateway framework.Speaking at the event, Commissioner Síkela said the partnership was designed to unlock concrete opportunities for Nigerians, especially young people.
“Global Gateway is about delivering new opportunities, and the EU-Nigerian cooperation in the digital area has a very strong potential to do exactly that.
“Our approach to digitalisation is based on skills-transfer, open standards, data protection, privacy and security. This way, we make sure that technologies truly enrich human lives. The new package will take our efforts even further by supporting modern e-public services and investing in the skills that will prepare Nigeria’s youth for the digital future” he said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, described the agreement as a reflection of shared values and long-term ambition.
“The EU–Nigeria digital economy cooperation reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must provide a platform for growth in productivity driven by technology.
“As part of this, Project Bridge provides a commercially sustainable entry point for European investors and suppliers to participate in deploying an open-access fibre network at scale” he said.
He added that Nigeria’s policy direction and talent pool make the country an attractive destination for investment.
“Combined with our leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure and programmes such as 3 million Technical Talents, Nigeria offers European businesses a market where talent, demand and policy alignment converge to support long-term investment and expansion,” Tijani said.
A major pillar of the new programme is support for Project Bridge, an ambitious plan to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic backbone across Nigeria. The project is being backed by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, making it Nigeria’s largest digital infrastructure investment to date.
The €45 million grant will support the project through technical assistance and equipment, covering detailed fibre network design, local skills development and supply-chain deployment with the active participation of European private sector companies.
Beyond infrastructure, the programme will also help modernise Nigeria’s public administration by supporting secure and user-friendly digital public services. It includes targeted backing for Nigeria’s nationwide digital skills initiative, aimed at training a new generation of technicians, engineers and IT specialists capable of building, maintaining and innovating on large-scale digital networks.
The EU–Nigeria Digital Open Day was organised to provide European investors and suppliers with practical information on opportunities within Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, with Project Bridge highlighted as a flagship opportunity for EU–Nigeria collaboration. Once completed, the wider €1.7 billion project is expected to expand Nigeria’s total fibre network to 125,000 kilometres, a 70 per cent increase, making it the third-longest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa after Egypt and South Africa.
The latest investment builds on the €820 million EU Digital Economy Package launched in 2022, which positions digitalisation as a central pillar of the EU–Nigeria partnership.
Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy, driven by start-ups, e-commerce platforms and innovation hubs, is widely seen as a key engine for job creation, economic growth and technological leadership across Africa.
