NIGERIA PLANS FOURFOLD INCREASE IN DATA

Nigeria is targeting a fourfold increase in data centre capacity over the next five years, with plans to raise available capacity from about 50 megawatts to 200MW.

The plan was discussed at the seventh Telecom area Sustainability Forum in Lagos as part of efforts to expand local digital infrastructure, support cloud adoption and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional digital hub.

Chief Executive Officer of Digital Realty Nigeria and Co-Chair of the National Cloud Initiative Technical Working Group, Ike Nnamani, said the country needed greater local capacity to support its growing digital economy.

He said more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s sovereign data was currently hosted outside the country, highlighting the need for stronger domestic infrastructure for critical data.

The expansion is linked to the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, which seeks to encourage cloud services to be provided within Nigeria, particularly for data considered critical to national security and the financial system. The Federal Government’s National Digital Cloud Policy also aims to attract investment into cloud and data centre infrastructure and strengthen digital sovereignty.

Nnamani said the government would provide the policy and regulatory framework while private-sector operators would drive infrastructure investment and deployment.

Industry stakeholders, however, identified funding constraints, right-of-way challenges and regulatory costs as some of the barriers that could affect digital infrastructure expansion.

The planned increase is expected to support growing demand for cloud computing, digital services and data-intensive technologies while creating opportunities for investment in Nigeria’s digital economy.