Funke Opeke built an extensive career in telecommunications engineering in the United States, working at major companies before returning to Nigeria with a vision of transforming the country's internet infrastructure.
In 2010, Opeke founded MainOne, building West Africa's first private submarine fibre optic cable, a 7,000-kilometre undersea infrastructure project connecting Nigeria directly to global internet networks in Europe.
MainOne's infrastructure dramatically expanded broadband capacity across West Africa, reducing internet costs and improving connection speeds for millions of users, businesses and institutions across the region that had previously relied on far more limited and expensive connectivity options.
Opeke's work addressed one of the most fundamental infrastructure gaps limiting West Africa's digital economy, and MainOne became a foundational piece of the region's internet infrastructure, later acquired by Equinix in one of the largest data infrastructure deals in African technology history.
- Built West Africa's first private submarine fibre optic cable
- Dramatically expanded broadband capacity and reduced internet costs across the region
- Founded MainOne, later acquired by Equinix in a major infrastructure deal
- Addressed one of West Africa's most fundamental digital infrastructure gaps
- Built extensive international telecommunications engineering expertise before returning to Nigeria
- International technical expertise can be redirected toward addressing domestic infrastructure gaps. Her US telecommunications career preceded and informed her return to build Nigerian infrastructure.
- Infrastructure investment can transform an entire region's digital economy. MainOne's cable dramatically improved internet access and affordability across West Africa.
- Ambitious infrastructure projects can achieve significant later commercial validation. MainOne's acquisition by Equinix confirmed the substantial value her infrastructure had created.
- Addressing fundamental gaps can have outsized systemic impact. Her focus on basic connectivity infrastructure enabled countless subsequent digital economy developments.