24 Institutions, Others to Benefit from N16.7bn Broadband Access Projects

Emma Okonji

About 24 institutions in the country, comprising 18 universities and six polytechnics, including some Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), drawn from the six geopolitical zones in the country, will be benefiting from the federal government’s broadband infrastructure projects, designed to accelerate the Nigeria digital economy. 

At the unveiling of the projects being driven by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami,  who presided over the event, said the projects underscored the importance of broadband connectivity and access as central to the accomplishment of the targets of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a digital Nigeria, adding that the projects are in line with the mandates of President Muhammadu Buhari on job creation and economic diversification.

Pantami, who was joined by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Mohammed Bello at the event, disclosed that the key infrastructure being provided for the projects, comprises of broadband infrastructure for tertiary institutions of learning; broadband infrastructure for MSME; distribution of 6,000 e-pad tablets, in addition to provision of broadband connectivity to 20 markets as a pilot.

According to him, the interest in supporting the MSMEs is justified by their current contribution of more than half of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) prior to COVID-19 outbreak, which now constitute 96.7 per cent of entire businesses in the country.