Google has announced that Togo will be the host country to its first undersea internet cable, shunning Nigeria.

On Friday, Google announced that Equiano will make its first landing in Togo this month.

“In 2019, we introduced the Equiano subsea cable, which will run from Portugal along the West Coast of Africa,” Google Africa said in a tweet.

“Today, we are announcing the Equiano subsea cable has arrived in Lomé, Togo, marking the cable’s 1st stop along Africa’s Atlantic coast.”

Equiano, named after Nigerian-born writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, was first announced in 2019. Though it is Google’s 14th internet subsea cable investment, it is the first project dedicated to internet access in Africa. 

Madam Cina Lawson, Togo’s Minister of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation welcomed the announcement.

“…access to high-speed internet is a fundamental part in our national digital development process as we strive towards achieving the objectives set out in our Digital 2025 Strategy,” Ms Lawson said. 

The subsea cable is expected to travel from Portugal to South Africa and is part of the company’s $1 billion Africa investment that includes a $50 million venture capital startup fund.

In its initial plans, Equiano was slated to land in Nigeria. Initial map plans pointed to its first landing in Nigeria.

At the time of filing this report, it has not been revealed why Google decided to land it in Togo instead.

Equiano is to provide improved high-speed and affordable internet access to Togo and the rest of West Africa, according to a joint statement by the Togolese government and Google.

Analytics firm Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics, in its economic impact assessment, said Equiano will add 37,000 new jobs between 2022 and 2025, and increase Togo’s economic output by $351 million during the same period.