NIDF Supports Tizeti in Nationwide Expansion of Broadband Network
Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund Lists on Nigerian Exchange
October 9, 2023Falcon Corporation Limited has Secured a N19.41 Billion Debt Facility from NIDF
December 4, 2023Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (“NIDF”) will provide long-term financing to Tizeti Network Limited (“Tizeti” or the “Company”) – West Africa’s pioneer solar-based internet service provider. The senior debt facility will be used to finance the rollout of Tizeti’s state-of-the art broadband network across 15 states in Nigeria.
Anshul Rai, the Chief Executive Officer of NIDF, said, “Chapel Hill Denham is excited to partner Tizeti in the expansion of fast, reliable broadband network across Nigeria. 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.”
Tizeti’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kendall Ananyi, commented, “We are excited to announce the closing of this new debt facility with Nigeria’s largest infrastructure debt fund. We see 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 catalyze 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”.
Tizeti currently serves over 3 million subscribers in Nigeria (residential facilities, businesses and hotspot users), via its wide network of solar-powered base stations in five states. The Company will deploy the debt funding 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. Tizeti currently charges its customers a monthly fee of about N12,500 ($16), which is the most competitive price in Nigeria and provides unlimited data usage and streaming.
For many countries in Africa, there is still a huge digital divide. This boundary between connected and unconnected translates into clear consequences for employment, education, family and social life, and access to information. More so, the World Bank reports that every 10% increase in broadband pentration could lead to as much as 2.8% growth in Gross Domestic Product. Partnerships such as this, therefore, 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.
About Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund
Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund is Nigeria’s largest and Africa’s first-ever listed infrastructure investment trust, providing long-term, Naira-denominated financing for infrastructure projects in Nigeria. NIDF enables project sponsors to avoid the unsustainable mismatches of currency and tenor between their financing and their revenues/cash flows.
With its current capital base of over 92 billion Naira, NIDF has a diversified and growing portfolio of infrastructure loans in a broad range of sectors including power generation, energy infrastructure, transportation, telecom, and social infrastructure (education and healthcare).
NIDF’s investor base includes the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and nearly all the pension funds operating in Nigeria. By mobilizing domestic capital for financing Nigeria’s infrastructure, NIDF has established a template that can bridge the infrastructure deficit facing not just Nigeria but countries across Africa.
About Tizeti
Tizeti is a fast-growing Wireless Internet service provider in Lagos, Nigeria, delivering high-speed unlimited Wi-Fi Internet access to residential and business customers using wide-area Wi-Fi. Its services are available in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, and Rivers States. It is also expanding rapidly to other African countries, with successful launches in Accra and Tema, Ghana, and expanding to Cote D’Ivoire.
