Innovation Village Newsletter
Posts
🛜 Airtel Nigeria to Launch Second Internet Breakout

🛜 Airtel Nigeria to Launch Second Internet Breakout

Plus: 📲 Happy Woman App

Innovation Village
February 09, 2026

In partnership with

‘

Happy New Week Valued Subscribers👋

Nigeria’s digital backbone is quietly being re-engineered. This week, Airtel Nigeria unveiled plans for a second international internet breakout, a move that could reduce the country’s reliance on Lagos, improve resilience, and boost speeds nationwide.

Backed by aggressive fibre expansion and accelerated 4G and 5G rollouts, the development signals a broader shift in how connectivity, redundancy, and digital growth are being planned in Africa’s largest telecoms market.

Let’s dive in👇

Today’s Menu ☕️

🛜 Airtel Nigeria to Launch Second Internet Breakout via 2Africa Cable
📲 Nigeria Launches Happy Woman App to Drive Women’s Economic Inclusion Nationwide
📶 NCC, NDPC Strengthen Telecom Data Privacy
🩺 CBM Launches ₦25bn SightQuest Against Preventable Blindness
💳 Cardtonic Launches NFC Platinum Virtual Card
💰Triodos Invests $5M in ASA Microfinance Tanzania

Learn how to make every AI investment count.

Successful AI transformation starts with deeply understanding your organization’s most critical use cases. We recommend this practical guide from You.com that walks through a proven framework to identify, prioritize, and document high-value AI opportunities.

In this AI Use Case Discovery Guide, you’ll learn how to:

Map internal workflows and customer journeys to pinpoint where AI can drive measurable ROI
Ask the right questions when it comes to AI use cases
Align cross-functional teams and stakeholders for a unified, scalable approach

Get the Guide.

🛜 INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

Airtel Nigeria to Launch Second Internet Breakout via 2Africa Cable

Dinesh Balsingh, CEO Airtel Nigeria

Airtel Nigeria has announced plans to launch a second internet breakout point in southern Nigeria, linked to the 2Africa submarine cable and routed through Kwa Ibo, Akwa Ibom State. The move will reduce Nigeria’s reliance on Lagos as its primary international connectivity hub and improve nationwide internet resilience and speed.

The plan is backed by major infrastructure investments, including a 25% fibre expansion and the addition of 2,242 new network sites, bringing Airtel’s total to nearly 16,711 sites. Airtel says 99% of its network now supports high-speed 4G, while 5G deployment is accelerating across major cities. The strategy aims to meet Nigeria’s rapidly growing data demand through long-term network resilience and capacity planning........….continue reading

📶 APPS

Nigeria Launches Happy Woman App to Drive Women’s Economic Inclusion Nationwide

Nigeria Vice President - Kassim Shettima

The Nigerian Government has launched the Happy Woman App, a digital platform designed to expand women’s economic inclusion across Nigeria under the Nigeria for Women Programme. The nationwide scale-up targets 25 million women across all states and the FCT, building on a successful pilot that supported over one million women through Women Affinity Groups.

The app provides access to finance, skills training, market linkages, and protection services, especially for women in underserved communities. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has designated 2026 as the Year of Social Development and Families, positioning women’s financial independence as central to economic growth. Backed by a $540 million programme co-financed with the World Bank, the initiative aims to use technology to deliver transparent, large-scale empowerment and improve household and national productivity........….continue reading

📶TELECOMS

NCC, NDPC Strengthen Telecom Data Privacy

Nigeria’s telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen data privacy and governance in the country’s fast-growing telecoms sector. With subscriber numbers rising from about 500,000 in earlier years to nearly 180 million by 2025, the volume of personal and commercial data generated by telecom platforms has increased significantly, raising concerns around misuse, security, and user awareness.

The MoU, signed on February 5, 2026, is designed to promote regulatory cooperation, ensure responsible handling of telecom data, and align industry practices with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.......….continue reading

🩺 HEALTH

CBM Launches ₦25bn SightQuest Against Preventable Blindness

The Christian Blind Mission (CBM) has launched SightQuest Nigeria, a €15 million (₦25 billion), ten-year initiative aimed at reducing preventable blindness across 14 Nigerian states between 2026 and 2035. Announced in Abuja by CBM CEO Dr Rainer Brockhaus, the programme focuses on building long-term, sustainable eye-care systems rather than short-term medical missions.

SightQuest Nigeria initially targets Bauchi, Imo, Jigawa, Plateau, and Oyo, with plans to expand to nine additional states identified as having high rates of visual impairment and limited access to eye-care services. A key objective is to increase effective cataract surgical coverage by 30% by 2030, addressing cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in Nigeria...................….continue reading

💳 PAYMENTS

Cardtonic Launches NFC Platinum Virtual Card

Nigerian fintech Cardtonic has introduced a Platinum virtual card that allows users to make both online and in-store contactless payments globally, expanding the traditional use of virtual cards beyond e-commerce. The new card is tokenized and NFC-enabled, making it compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay for tap-to-pay transactions at physical POS terminals, while still supporting international online payments.

Unlike standard virtual dollar cards, which are typically limited to online use, Cardtonic’s Platinum card bridges the gap between digital and physical spending. Users in Nigeria and Ghana can fund the card in local currency and pay in either USD or local denominations, eliminating the need to carry a separate physical debit card for offline purchases........….continue reading

💰INVESTMENTS

Triodos Invests $5M in ASA Microfinance Tanzania

Triodos Investment Management has provided a $5 million loan to ASA Microfinance Tanzania to strengthen access to credit for low-income entrepreneurs, with a strong focus on women and rural business owners who are underserved by traditional banks. The funding was deployed through the Triodos Microfinance Fund and the Triodos Fair Share Fund, underscoring Triodos’ impact-investing strategy in East Africa.

ASA Microfinance Tanzania is a wholly owned subsidiary of ASA International Group, a global microfinance network operating across 13 countries in Asia and Africa. As part of this group, ASA Tanzania benefits from standardized, high-repayment lending models and operational expertise tailored to emerging markets....…..continue reading