MainOne, West Africa’s leading provider of wholesale and enterprise connectivity and data centre services celebrates 10 years of delivering innovative, world-class service in West Africa.

Ten years ago, the company launched its operations with the commissioning of the first private submarine cable on the West Coast of Africa.

The company has played a critical role in enabling internet access across West Africa where penetration rates have grown from less than 10% in 2010 to close to 40% ten years later.  

Since inception, MainOne has invested in over $400m in infrastructure in West Africa as part of its efforts to bridge the digital divide and enable the digital economy.

The investments include submarine cables, terrestrial fibre networks, and Points of Presence (POPs) across the region.

 Within this period, the company has delivered services to 10 West African countries and has built Tier III data centres in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire hosting the largest institutions and global content in the region, with on-going expansions of its data centre footprint in Nigeria and Ghana.

These investments and contributions to the economy have led the company to numerous awards on both local and global stages.

Prominent of these awards are the Datacloud Africa Award for Excellence in Data Center (Africa) and Africa Cloud Service Provider of the Year, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Impact Award, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award for Excellence in Broadband Infrastructure, NTITA Telecoms Wholesale Provider of the Year, Frost & Sullivan Best Practices winner for the Nigerian Data Center Customer Value Leaderships Award, Ghana Telecoms Awards: Telecom Wholesale Carrier of the Year and Nigerian Telecoms Awards: Broadband Company of the Year, among others.

Reflecting on 10 years in business, Funke Opeke, Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, said, “We started on this journey to deploy critical infrastructure to bridge the digital divide in West Africa. While we are pleased that we have made an impact, there is so much more work to be done."

"The recent challenges we have faced with COVID-19 Pandemic highlight the need for additional investment and smarter policies to deploy shared infrastructure required to make access to broadband a reality for more Africans at a price they can afford.

"MainOne has been leading that charge across West Africa for ten years and we are even more committed to realizing our vision today than we were 10 years ago,” she said.

According to the company, although it is an accomplishment for any company to reach the 10-year milestone, it is particularly significant that they hold on to their vision which is to be West Africa’s communication solutions provider of choice.

MainOne expressed its gratitude to their customers and staff for their trust and dedication to the growth of the company.

"Through the commitment of shareholders, hard work and dedication of our employees, and collaboration with partners, the company has been able to deliver services that balance innovative solutions with excellent service delivery" MainOne stated.