ICT company, ipNX, has called for sustained investment in fibre infrastructure, local data hosting and increased internet traffic exchange within the country as critical steps to accelerate the growth of the digital economy and strengthen digital sovereignty.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Powering the Digital Economy: Infrastructure, Finance, and Scale” at the Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe (DOA) Business Series 2026 held at the Civic Centre in Lagos, the company’s chief technology architect, Oluwaseun Oluboyo, said Nigeria must prioritise resilient digital infrastructure to support the increasing reliance on digital services.
Oluboyo noted that digital services have become integral to daily life, making reliable connectivity essential for businesses, government operations and individuals.
“Digital services have become essential to how we work, communicate, learn, and transact. Ensuring their reliability requires sustained investment in robust infrastructure and resilient networks,” he said.
He stressed that strengthening fibre infrastructure would reduce service disruptions caused by fibre cuts, infrastructure failures and network outages, which often have significant economic and social consequences.
Oluboyo also advocated greater local hosting of digital services and content, describing it as a vital component of Nigeria’s digital sovereignty. According to him, many cloud-based applications used by Nigerians are still hosted outside the country, leading to higher latency and limiting service quality.
“When services, applications, and content are hosted closer to users, response times improve significantly, network efficiency increases, and service providers gain greater control over the quality of experience,” he said.
While acknowledging improvements in internet exchange points and content caching infrastructure deployed by global technology companies, he maintained that Nigeria still has considerable opportunities to expand local internet traffic exchange and digital infrastructure.
He further emphasised the need to bridge the country’s digital divide, noting that although satellite and microwave technologies can help connect underserved communities, fibre infrastructure remains the most sustainable long-term solution for delivering the speed, capacity and reliability required by a growing digital economy.
Oluboyo commended the Project BRIDGE initiative, describing it as a strategic intervention that could expand high-quality broadband connectivity to more communities and deepen participation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
The discussion formed part of the DOA Business Series 2026, which brought together industry leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to examine infrastructure, financing, regulatory and policy issues shaping Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Calling for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors, Oluboyo urged stakeholders to move beyond discussions and focus on practical actions that would accelerate broadband expansion and digital inclusion.
“As stakeholders, we must continue to evaluate our progress, strengthen collaboration, and take practical steps that will expand connectivity, improve digital access, and unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s digital economy,” he said.
He reaffirmed ipNX’s commitment to investing in broadband and digital infrastructure that will improve connectivity, support digital inclusion and position Nigeria for a more competitive digital future.
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