The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announced it has raised over $82 billion under its Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition to expand internet connectivity in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

Launched in 2021, P2C serves as a mobilization platform rallying governments, private sector, and civil society to support digital inclusion projects, especially in remote communities.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin made the announcement at Mobile World Congress 2026, noting that 2.2 billion people remain offline.

“Today’s milestone shows what’s possible when we pool our collective resources towards making connectivity universal and meaningful,” she said.

The initiative is on track to meet its $100 billion target by the end of 2026. Recent pledges include Mobily’s $1.715 billion investment in data centers, submarine cables, and 5G infrastructure, and Ooredoo Group’s $500 million investment in optical fibre networks across the MENA region.

These commitments directly support ITU’s goal of ensuring affordable, reliable internet access and digital skills for all. Since inception, P2C has secured over 1,000 pledges from 149 countries, covering infrastructure, policy modernization, and capacity-building.

By aligning existing projects with new ones, P2C enables governments, companies, and NGOs to showcase contributions and track progress toward universal connectivity.

ITU estimates that achieving meaningful global connectivity by 2030 could require $2.6–$2.8 trillion.

The agency urged both public and private sectors to scale up commitments to connect the quarter of the world’s population still unconnected.

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TECHDIGEST – The global body in charge of telecommunications, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said it is working with the Nigerian Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to ensure that rural communities in the country have access to the internet.

Newly elected Secretary-General of the Union, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who disclosed this at the weekend, said only 50% of rural communities in Africa are connected, hence the need to work with the governments to bridge the connectivity gap.

Specifically, she said the partnership with the Nigerian government will ensure that more women in rural areas have access to the internet. According to her, when more rural women have access to the internet, their productivity would increase.

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Speaking at an event organized by Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day, Bogdan-Martin said rural women in Africa are playing critical roles in food production and need to be connected to the internet to enhance their productivity.

“We are working with Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to connect Nigerian rural women. We want to make sure that every rural area in Nigeria is connected, especially for rural women that are producing most of the foods that we eat.

“We have discovered that 70% of Africa’s foods are produced by rural women but only 34% of them use the internet. These women need to be connected. Technology can help farmers in monitoring crops, predicting weather conditions as well as combating agricultural pests, and this is the area we are working with Nigeria to bridge the connectivity gap in rural areas,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, the executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, urged rural women, and farmers, to leverage technology to boost food production. While noting that modern agricultural technology increases employment, efficiency in production, and time and cost reduction, the EVC said:

“Today, the telecommunications industry plays a crucial role in providing the requisite support for the diversification of the economy through improving the knowledge economy using ICT as an enabler. It has enhanced human capabilities in areas such as health, education, agriculture, finance, transportation, commerce, and governance.”

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