Mike Adenuga’s Globacom expands network to community near Nigeria’s capital

Key Points

• Globacom connects 12,000 residents in rural Kura, expanding mobile access with LTE speeds and public WiFi for schools and clinics.
• Glo targets underserved areas to support education, healthcare, and business, with more rollouts planned nationwide.
• Through Conoil, Mike Adenuga exports Nigeria’s newest medium-sweet crude from OML 150, partnering with NNPCL.

Globacom, the telecom giant founded by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga, has expanded its network to Kura, a rural community near Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. For the first time, residents in this area now have access to mobile connectivity. It’s a step in tackling Nigeria’s digital divide, especially in places that have long been left out of the country’s growing tech infrastructure.

Working in partnership with Chinese technology firm Huawei, Glo connected Kura’s population of about 12,000 people to mobile services. Within two days of going live, all residents were using the network, streaming over 81 gigabytes of data and making more than 13,000 minutes of calls. The network held steady, with LTE speeds reaching up to 5.0 Mbps.

“This is the Glo difference. Purpose-driven. Impactful. Made for Nigeria,” the company said in a statement on Friday. But it wasn’t just about connecting phones. The rollout also brought internet access to the local school and health center. A free public WiFi hub now supports telehealth, online learning, and access to digital government services.

Glo expands broadband in rural Nigeria

While mobile internet is common in Nigeria’s cities, many rural areas remain out of reach. At the end of 2023, about 120 million Nigerians still lacked access to mobile broadband, according to the GSMA, a global telecom industry group. That makes the Kura project a meaningful example of how access can be extended to places that need it most.

Glo says this is just one piece of a broader effort. The company has been gradually expanding its network into underserved and semi-urban areas, with the goal of supporting education, healthcare, and local business. And there’s more to come. After Kura, Glo is moving ahead with similar projects in other remote parts of the country.

Earlier this year, the company opened a new Gloworld store in Maiduguri, a city in Nigeria’s northeast that has faced both infrastructure challenges and conflict. The store, which features upgraded technology, is part of Glo’s larger retail push and aims to improve customer service in the region.

At the same time, Glo is investing in the future of Nigeria’s digital economy. It launched its first digital innovation hub in Lagos and is now preparing to open more centers in Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Abuja by mid-2025. These hubs will support young tech entrepreneurs and create jobs as the country’s digital sector continues to evolve. 

Adenuga exports new Nigerian crude blend

Beyond telecoms, Mike Adenuga, Nigeria’s second-richest man with a $6.7 billion fortune, is deeply involved in the country’s energy sector. His company, Conoil Producing, recently marked a milestone with the export of Nigeria’s newest crude oil grade, known as the Obodo blend.

The new product was officially launched in April 2025. It’s a medium-sweet crude, produced under a partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and drilled from the onshore OML 150 block. The oil is produced by Continental Oil & Gas Limited, part of the Conoil Producing group. Across the Niger Delta, the company operates six oil blocks.