Nigeria’s MainOne recently celebrated five years of operations growing West Africa’s Internet landscape after initially starting as a submarine cable operator to becoming the region’s preferred provider of wholesale Internet services.

Speaking at a press conference, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Funke Opeke reiterated that despite the challenges faced the region – predominantly a dearth and high cost of infrastructure – the company is “excited about the future prospects in the broadband market and determined to remain consistent in its resolve to bridging the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world.”

In an official statement, MainOne says it has invested over $300m in infrastructure in West Africa towards improving connectivity and data center services in West Africa, a move that has led to reliable services. The firm now boasts of a fiber terrestrial network, POPs across the region and a $35 million MDX-I  Tier III Data Center launched in Lagos earlier this year.

According to Ms. Opeke, her company currently operates in 7 markets across West Africa, with an impressive portfolio of over 500 major telecom operators, ISPs, government agencies, large enterprises, and educational institutions on its network.

Main One Cable claims it has the region’s highest lit capacity on its submarine cable, and is the #1 Internet transit provider in West Africa, interconnected with the London Internet Exchange (LINX), Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMIX), Nigerian Internet Exchange (IXPN) and the Ghanaian Internet Exchange (GIX).