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Nigeria’s Solar Internet Provider Tizeti Secures Funding from NIDF to Expand Broadband Network

Tizeti Network Limited, a leading solar-based internet service provider in West Africa, has secured a long-term debt facility from the Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF). The funding will be used to finance the rollout of Tizeti’s state-of-the-art broadband network across 15 states in Nigeria, increasing its coverage from five states to 20 states.

Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) is Nigeria’s largest and the first-listed infrastructure investment trust in Africa. Its primary purpose is to provide long-term, Naira-denominated financing for infrastructure projects within Nigeria, addressing the challenges of currency and tenor mismatches between funding and project revenue streams. With a robust capital base exceeding 92 billion Naira, NIDF manages a diverse and expanding portfolio of infrastructure loans spanning various sectors, including power generation, energy infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications, and social infrastructure such as education and healthcare.

Also Read: Solar Provider Starsight Secures N3.6Bn Facility from Chapel Hill Denham Fund

NIDF has garnered support from notable institutions like the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and nearly all pension funds operating in Nigeria. By channeling domestic capital into Nigeria’s infrastructure development, NIDF serves as a blueprint to alleviate the infrastructure deficit not only in Nigeria but across the African continent.

Tizeti, on the other hand, is a rapidly growing wireless internet service provider headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. It specializes in delivering high-speed, unlimited Wi-Fi access to both residential and business customers through wide-area Wi-Fi technology. Tizeti’s services are readily available in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, and Rivers States, and it has successfully expanded into other African nations, with notable launches in Accra and Tema, Ghana, and plans for further expansion into Cote D’Ivoire.

Tizeti, which currently serves over three million subscribers in Nigeria, offers affordable and unlimited internet access and streaming services to residential facilities, businesses and hotspot users, via its wide network of solar-powered base stations. The company charges its customers a monthly fee of about N12,500 ($16), which is the most competitive price in the country.

The partnership with NIDF will enable Tizeti to build new internet infrastructure and purchase additional equipment to expand its services to Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna States. The company aims to become the largest internet service provider in Nigeria by coverage and to address the digital exclusion barriers in the country.

According to the World Bank, raising internet access to 75 percent of the population in all developing countries would add as much as US$2 trillion to their collective gross domestic product (GDP). It also revealed that every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration could lead to as much as 2.8 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product.

For many countries in Africa, there is still a huge digital gap that translates into clear consequences for employment, education, family and social life, and access to information. Partnerships such as this one between Tizeti and NIDF play a significant role in addressing the digital infrastructure deficits in emerging economies, leveraging innovative technology and capabilities, to improve development outcomes for millions of people.

Anshul Rai, the Chief Executive Officer of NIDF, said that Chapel Hill Denham, the manager of NIDF, is excited to partner with Tizeti in the expansion of fast and reliable broadband network across Nigeria. He added that the digital economy is a key strategic pillar for Nigeria to accelerate its economic and social development, and providing access to affordable internet services is crucial to achieve the true potential of digitisation.

“We continue to work with all stakeholders to support accelerated development of digital infrastructure in Nigeria by providing access to long-term, Naira-denominated financing for such projects – thus realising the government’s vision of reaching 70% broadband penetration by 2025,” he said.

Also Read: Fintechs in Africa continue to overshadow all other startups in funding gained

Kendall Ananyi, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tizeti, commented that he is excited to announce the deal with Nigeria’s largest infrastructure debt fund. He said that he sees tremendous opportunity for domestic capital in addressing digital exclusion barriers in Nigeria and this partnership will hopefully be one of many.

“We will use this to build last-mile digital infrastructure that will move internet capacity to other Nigerian states and catalyse sustained development, value creation, improved connectivity, and a deeper and wider digital inclusion net. This will also increase our coverage from 5 states to 15 states and make us the largest internet service providers in Nigeria by coverage,” he said.

Abdullah Tijani

Abdullah Tijani studied Law at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, and has over five years journalism experience, including writing on business and economy.

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