Internet access in Nigeria is set to triple in the next two years, Reuters reports. According to Funke Opeke, C.E.O. of the Main One Cable Company, a leading West African submarine cable company which has laid a 7,000 km fibre optic cable linking West Africa to Europe “at least one in three people in Nigeria could have direct Internet access by 2013. We would say a number in the 35-40 percent for Internet access penetration over the next 18-24 months would be a worthwhile objective.” In a nation of about 150 million people, this portends strong prospects for web based businesses.

The market potential in Nigeria is huge. Already, the mobile phone subscription market in the country is the continent’s largest with South Africa’s MTN Group, India’s Bharti Airtel, Abu Dhabi based Etisalat and Nigeria’s Globacom serving as key industry players. As of May this year, the country’s telecommunications regulator estimated that there were 80 million plus mobile phone subscribers.

Read the full article on The Next Web Africa here.