Agwunobi Joy
Tizeti, a provider of solar-powered internet services, has secured a long-term debt financing agreement from Chapel Hill Denham’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF). The funds will be used to support the rollout of Tizeti’s broadband network across 15 states in Nigeria.
Though the exact amount of the debt facility has not been disclosed, the West African internet service provider stated that the funding will be used to upgrade its network infrastructure and expand its service offering to more customers in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.
With the debt financing, Tizeti plans to deploy the funds to build new internet infrastructure and purchase additional equipment to expand its services to additional states in Nigeria, including Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna.
The debt financing from Chapel Hill Denham comes at a time when the Nigerian government is actively working towards the targets set out in the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020-2025). Despite progress towards the goal of achieving 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025, there is still a long way to go, with the latest data from August 2022 showing that penetration still stands at 45.57 per cent.
With this new funding, Tizeti said it is well-positioned to play a role in closing the gap and helping the country reach its target.
Anshid Kai, chief executive officer of NIDF, expressed Chapel Hill Denham’s excitement to partner with Tizeti in the expansion of a fast, reliable broadband network across Nigeria. He noted that the goal is to support the rollout of affordable internet services which is a key pillar for Nigeria to accelerate its economic and social development.
“We continue to work with all stakeholders to support accelerated development of digital infrastructure in Nigeria to provide access to long-term naira–denominated financing for such projects – thus realising the government’s vision of reaching 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025,” Kai said.
Kendal Ananyi, founder and CEO of Tizeti, emphasized the importance of domestic capital in addressing barriers to digital inclusion in Nigeria.
“We will use this to build last-mile digital infrastructure that will move internet capacity to other Nigerian states and catalyze sustained development, value creation, improved connectivity, and a deeper and wider digital inclusion net. This will also increase our coverage from 5 states and make us the largest internet service provider in Nigeria by coverage,” Ananyi said.
