The bank’s board has greenlit a $200 million loan for the Nigerian government to fund the D-VIBE project – Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment; yes, a mouthful.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and West Africa’s largest market, and with the digital economy increasingly a major contributor to GDP, the D-VIBE Project is expected to close connectivity gaps and support productivity and job creation.

It will achieve this by extending Nigeria’s national fibre backbone from around 30,000 km to about 120,000 km, connecting all 774 Local Government Areas, including schools, health facilities, agro-industrial zones, rural communities and commercial hubs, to high-speed broadband and establishing cross-border links with neighbours Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.

D-VIBE, also known as Project BRIDGE, is structured as a public-private partnership through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), with public ownership capped between 25% and 49% and private sector participation between 51% and 75%, helping address rollout constraints such as high construction and Right-of-Way costs.

The African Development Bank Group is providing a $200 million loan as part of an $800 million sovereign financing package for the project, alongside $500 million from the World Bank and $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Total project financing is estimated at $2 billion, and includes an EU grant of €22 million, a $2.6 million Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) project preparation grant, and at least $1.2 billion of investment from the private sector.

“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,” said Abdul Kamara, director general, African Development Bank Group Nigeria Office.

The project is supported through a working group of development finance institutions, co-led by the Nigerian government and the African Development Bank Group, that will align design choices, technical studies and financing.

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

D-VIBE is expected to support creation of up to 2.8 million jobs over its lifecycle and raise national broadband penetration from 45% to around 70% by 2030.

The project aligns with Nigeria’s Vision 2050, its National Development Plan and Renewed Hope Development Plan (2026-2030), the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033).

Edun, speaking at the Monday FEC meeting, disclosed that the opportunity had been extended to five or six African nations.

He stated that President Tinubu met with the bank’s executives in June to explore Nigeria’s membership possibilities, indicating Nigeria’s readiness to join the bank.

Moreover, he added that the FEC had endorsed the president’s commitment on Monday, paving the way for Nigeria’s membership in the financial institution.

“We also fulfilled a commitment by Mr. President way back in June when we met the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They had said they were looking to spread beyond the region of Europe and take on partners and shareholders. They were opening up to five or six African countries.

“Mr. President told the president of EBRD that we are interested. The preliminary approval has been ratified by the Federal Executive Council.

“We are going to be members of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development,” he said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was established in April 1991 to ‘foster the transition towards open market-oriented economies and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative’.

According to the bank’s official website, the financial institution has invested over €190 billion in more than 6,800 projects across three continents.

The EBRD has shareholders in 72 countries from five continents, as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank.

These shareholders have each made a capital contribution, which forms our core funding.

Each shareholder is represented individually on the Board of Governors of the EBRD which has overall authority over the Bank and sets its overall strategic direction.

EBRD is also a leading climate financer across the world, investing in climate change initiatives, green energy as well as sustainable growth.