Google to invest $1b in Africa, launch subsea cable in Nigeria
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Google says it will launch in Nigeria this month its Equiano subsea cable traversing different locations in Africa, as part of projects to increase internet speed and create 1.6 million jobs in Nigeria alone.
It reiterates its commitment to investing $1 billion in Africa in the next five years on projects which include the Equiano subsea cable.
“The cable is expected to enable a fivefold increase in average internet speeds in Nigeria and create 1.6 million jobs,” Google West Africa Director Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor said.
She broke the news in Abuja during a meeting with Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Pantami, where she also expressed Google’s support for the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria.
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Nigeria, a major landing point
Ehimuan-Chiazor said the cable is being launched as it lands at different points on the continent, much like a road construction launched as construction progresses.
Nigeria is a major landing point for the cable and the launch of the milestone is expected to take place in April 2022, she added, per reporting by Nairametrics.
Pantami explained that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to increasing the ease of doing business and gave an assurance that the government will continue to promote regulations that support development.
Other recent American investments in Nigeria
Google joins other American firms and the United States government who have invested a total $737 million in Africa’s most populous nation this year alone.
Kimberly-Clark, a diaper manufacturer based in Texas, opened in March a $100 million plant in Lagos that has capacity to create 6,000 jobs – 1,000 direct and 5,000 indirect.
The company says the factory, located in the Ikorodu area of the state, has the potential to scale over the next three to five years of operation.
Microsoft Corporation opened its $100 million African Development Centre (ADC) in Lagos in March to provide software engineering solutions across the continent.
The centre already has more than 200 Nigerian employees, among them 120 engineers, and it plans to hire more engineering talent.
The foundation stone of the new US consulate in Atlantic City, Lagos was also laid in March that will be its largest in the world when completed in 2027 at a cost of $537 million.
The US Mission said the construction project will directly benefit Nigerians, with an estimated $95 million invested in the local economy.
The project will employ about 2,500 Nigerians, including
- engineers
- architects
- artisans
- construction workers and
- administrative staff who
will have the opportunity to learn new technical skills and safety awareness that will help distinguish them in the local market, according to the US Mission.
