Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Director of Google West Africa, has revealed that Google intends to sponsor the Equiano undersea cable in order to increase internet speeds and generate 1.6 million jobs in Nigeria.
On Thursday, she paid a visit to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, with a team from Google West Africa.
The team paid a visit to the Minister to inform him on Google’s operations in Nigeria.
This was revealed in a statement made on Wednesday by Dr Femi Adeluyi, the Technical Assistant (Research & Development) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
The statement read, “She updated the Minister on Google’s commitment to invest $1bn in Africa over the next five years, from October 2021. The investment includes funding for the Equiano subsea cable.
“The Equiano cable is expected to enable a five-fold increase in average Internet speeds in Nigeria and create 1.6 million jobs. Equiano, whose name was inspired by a Nigerian, is being launched as it lands at different points on the continent, much like a road construction that is launched as construction progresses.
“According to the Director, Nigeria is a major landing point for the cable and the launch of this major milestone is expected to take place in April 2022.”
The Director further informed the Minister of Google’s support for the tech ecosystem in Nigeria through skills development programs and grants, adding that about six million Nigerians have benefited from other digital skills initiatives, and the target is to reach 10 million Nigerians.
Pantami assured Google that the Federal Government would continue to promote regulations supporting development and innovation.