Market assessment and entry strategy in the TMT sector for EBRD in Sub-Saharan Africa

Overview
Project Summary Document

TCRS 22522

Status TC Com approved

Location

Regional

Business Sector

Telecommunications Media and Technology

Notice Type

Public

PSD Disclosed

25 Nov 2025

Project Description

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching a Technical Cooperation (TC) project to assess the telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT) sector in its six newly approved Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries of Operations (COOs): Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin (and Ghana when approved).

Enquiries

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

TCRS 22522

Status TC Com approved

Location

Regional

Business Sector

Telecommunications Media and Technology

Notice Type

Public

PSD Disclosed

25 Nov 2025

Project Description

The EBRD’s expansion into these six SSA economies is creating a significant opportunity for the Bank to support one of the world’s fastest-growing regions, where digital connectivity, infrastructure and innovation are central to economic transformation. Despite rapid growth in mobile usage, entrepreneurship and digital services, the region continues to face persistent structural challenges. Internet penetration in Africa remains only 38%, far below the global average of 68%, while fixed broadband access is limited, costly, and unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. Data-centre infrastructure remains nascent, 4G coverage is inconsistent, and regulatory and policy frameworks are often fragmented or underdeveloped.

At the same time, the momentum for digital development is accelerating. The African internet economy is estimated to reach 5% of continental GDP by 2025, driven by expanding connectivity, fast-growing fintech ecosystems, regional infrastructure investments, and a rising demand for digital public and private services. Yet investment decisions – both public and private – remain constrained by insufficient market intelligence, gaps in policy coherence, and a lack of coordinated sector reforms.

Against this backdrop, the EBRD requires a comprehensive, evidence-based understanding of the TMT landscape in its new SSA markets to calibrate its strategic approach, identify investment and policy-dialogue entry points, and engage credibly with national authorities, regulators, private investors and development partners. This TC project will therefore deliver a structured assessment of market conditions, infrastructure gaps, policy constraints, and emerging opportunities across telecoms, broadband, data infrastructure and digital services.

TC Services

The Bank will engage a consultant to conduct an in-depth, cross-country study that will:

• Analyse regional and national TMT markets, covering mobile networks, fixed broadband, fibre infrastructure, data centres and cloud services, and emerging digital platforms.
• Assess policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks, identifying gaps that affect affordability, competition, quality of service and private-sector participation.
• Map key market players, including mobile network operators, internet service providers (ISPs), data-centre operators, infrastructure providers, tech innovators, and development actors.
• Identify investment bottlenecks, structural constraints, and areas requiring reform or regulatory strengthening.
• Recommend priority areas for EBRD investment, advisory and policy dialogue to support competitive, inclusive and well-governed digital markets across SSA.

Any competitive selections for business opportunities relating to this project will be published on the EBRD's website: Consultancy Procurement Opportunities.

General enquiries

EBRD project enquiries not related to procurement:
Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

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Market assessment and entry strategy in the TMT sector for EBRD in Sub-Saharan Africa

Project Description

Enquiries

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Project Description

General enquiries

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)