Type:  Telecom Network Expansion

Location:  Lagos, Nigeria

Funding Request:  USD $75 Million (debt/equity financing)

Goal:  A well established telecom company,with a very strong management team, is now poised to expand its telecom network operation to various zones in Nigeria.  This involves covering all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory-Abuja, and the 774 local government areas in the country.  This wil enable the company ,using its national license capability, to acquire a substantial share of Nigeria's telecommunications market, which is estimated to exceed the 50 million mark over the next 5 years.

Estimates by independent organizations, such as Pyramid Research, suggest that investment in the Nigerian telecommunications market will grow from about $900 million in 2001 to over $4.0 billion by the end of 2006.  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has recently come out with a policy on the universal regime, which allow all current mobile operators to offer fixed services and vice versa.  Nigeria's telecoms industry has been rated to be the 3rd largest (in terms of growth rate) in the world, behind China and India.  So, Nigeria has the fastest growing telecoms market in Africa, considered one of Africa's top 3 markets after South Africa and Egypt, but is expected to overtake South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, etc. in subscriber base in the very near future.