Nigeria is partnering with Burkina Faso on Project Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE), to extend terrestrial fiber-optic routes through Niger and Benin, aiming to cut Burkina Faso's internet transit costs by up to 50 percent.
Dr. 'Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Dr. Aminata Zerbo-Sabané, his Burkinabe counterpart, have sealed a deal to establish a joint technical committee for regional digital integration at a meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital.
At the centre of the discussions was BRIDGE, Nigeria’s connectivity initiative aimed at expanding access to faster, more affordable and resilient internet infrastructure.
Under the proposed collaboration, technical teams from both countries will assess connectivity routes linking Nigeria to Burkina Faso through Nigeria-Niger-Burkina Faso and Nigeria-Benin-Burkina Faso corridors.
The assessment is expected to identify a viable pathway for lowering Burkina Faso’s internet connectivity costs by up to half.
The two countries also agreed to establish a Technical Working Committee to develop an implementation framework for the partnership.
The cooperation will extend beyond fibre infrastructure to other areas of the digital economy.
Nigeria and Burkina Faso plan to explore collaboration on digital skills and talent development, including the potential sharing of Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) model.
The countries will also seek to strengthen ties between their startup ecosystems, support Burkina Faso’s Innovation Campus and collaborate on artificial intelligence, local-language technologies, shared computing infrastructure, cybersecurity and research.
Tijani said the engagement forms part of Nigeria’s broader outreach to neighbouring countries, following a recent visit to Benin Republic, with planned engagements in Niger and Chad.
Federal government said the broader objective is to leverage the country’s expanding digital infrastructure and capabilities to support shared economic opportunities across borders, strengthen regional digital integration and position Nigeria as a digital gateway connecting West Africa and the Sahel.
As the federal government is thinking os helping Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s internet cost is too high.
The cost of internet in Nigeria is driven by a 50% tariff floor increase approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), pushing average mobile data to over ₦431 per GB.
Major telecom networks, fiber providers, and satellite services like Starlink have raised prices due to severe inflation, local currency devaluation, and expensive diesel maintenance for cell towers.
