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World Bank Earmarks $50m For ICT Devt in Nigeria

The World Bank has set aside $50 million for ICT infrastructure development, connectivity, skills development and capacity building in Nigeria With this development, the bank will thus be turning its focus towards telecommunications development in Eastern and Southern Africa to the West African sub- region.

According to an IDG News Service report, the fund is coming less than seven months after the bank gave $424 million for the development of the eastern and southern Africa communication infrastructure. The World Bank is confident that a wider application of ICT as well as the popularisation of business process outsourcing could lead to a significant transformation in the region’s societies.

Nigeria is recognised as the largest ICT market in Africa. With the World Bank funding, however, the country is expected to further consolidate its position as the hub of ICT development and the largest ICT market in Africa, which would attract investment by international telecoms companies. Speaking on the issue, a senior economist with the African Finance and Private Sector Development Agency, Mr. Ismail Radwan, said: “The key intervention in Nigeria includes connectivity, infrastructure development and the outsourcing sector.” Nigeria's continued growth over the next five years is expected to trigger more competition among a growing number of networks in the West African region. Last year, the Nigerian telecoms market grew by 23 per cent, generating $8.4 billion in overall telecoms service revenue. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with more than 140 million people, the report stated. It said since the liberalisation of the market in 2003, Nigeria's telecoms market had experienced an exceptional growth rate that is attracting new operators more than any other country in the region. However, the World Bank wants all the African economies to be transformed through the development of ICT and increased investment in the telecoms sector. The Rwandan government is using World Bank funds to develop a national capacity to provide broadband services with the hope of reducing the high cost of bandwidth and communication. The financing is also expected to increase the volume of international bandwidth in the region.

The World Bank announced the programme to fund ICT African infrastructure development in 2007. More than $164 million was allocated to Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar as part of the first phase of the programme. Other eligible countries in the region will join future phases of the programme on a “readiness basis.” The programme was created after calls by various governments in the region requesting funding from the bank for telecoms infrastructure development. The fact that the region only accounts for less than one per cent of the world international bandwidth is something that needs to be changed, according to the bank. By the end of the project, the bank said major cities across the region would be linked to competitively priced high-bandwidth connectivity. The lower prices of the international connectivity is expected to decrease the cost of doing business and increase private sector investment opportunities in the region.