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Telecoms & ConnectivityOpen

Design a Community-Owned Connectivity Model for Rural Nigeria

Telcos have not reached 40 million Nigerians in rural areas because it is not profitable. Design the community model that reaches them anyway.

Closes 6 Sept 2026

The brief

The last 40 million Nigerians without internet access are in rural areas that commercial telcos have judged unprofitable to serve. Starlink is too expensive. The government's universal service fund moves slowly. These communities are being left behind in the digital economy. Your challenge is to design a community-owned or community-operated connectivity model for a rural Nigerian community of 2,000 to 5,000 people. The model must be affordable at under ₦2,000 per household per month, technically feasible, and not dependent on continued external funding after year two. Submit: technical architecture (simplified), business model, governance structure (who owns and operates it), revenue model, cost per household, and a plan for the first 12 months. Judging criteria: 35% technical and operational feasibility, 30% affordability, 25% community governance model, 10% independence from external funding.