MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.
“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola in an interview ahead of the launch.
He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.
“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said. “We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”
This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa
He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.
“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.
Local firms gain ground as naira weakens
Nigeria’s cloud computing market is projected to reach $1.03bn in 2025 and grow to $3.28bn by 2030 — an annual rate of nearly 26%, according to research firm Mordor Intelligence.
Growth is underpinned by the nationwide rollout of 5G networks and greater use of AI, big data and the Internet of Things across healthcare, finance and retail.
The devaluations between June 2023 and January 2024 saw the naira lose around 70% of its value against the dollar, sharply increasing costs for customers of foreign cloud services. That shift has fuelled demand for local providers such as Nobus, Layer3 and Okra accepting payments in naira.
Amazon Web Services began accepting naira payments in January, citing customer concerns over foreign exchange costs.
MTN is also betting that local pricing will give it a competitive edge despite the currency’s slide from around 450 per dollar when the project began to roughly N1,600/$ today.
“When we say we are here to stay, it is come rain, come shine,” said Toriola.
He argued that local hosting offers lower costs: “The cloud service provided is priced in naira, which reduces exposure to foreign exchange volatility. It minimises the initial outlay while improving performance, since everything is hosted in Nigeria — therefore, latency is reduced.”
Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage
MTN says Nigeria spends more than $850m a year on foreign cloud services.
The Nigerian government’s Cloud Computing Policy, drawn up by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in 2019, encourages public institutions and SMEs to use local cloud providers wherever possible.
‘A huge step forward’
MTN built its first data centre in Nigeria in 2001. The new project broke ground in July 2023 and has been under development for the past year.
Toriola said local hosting will help protect Nigerian businesses from “exposures to sovereign data risks in foreign states, possibly in aggressive negative foreign states”.
“I am extremely proud that once again MTN is at the forefront of technology, particularly in the data centre space,” he said. “We will continue to expand the capacity that we have, and part of that is readiness for artificial intelligence. This is a huge step forward.”
He also emphasised MTN’s cooperation with the Nigerian Data Protection Commission and NITDA.
“With the hosting of data services, we can provide many critical services — whether as primary or secondary backups — locally, such as the issuance of national identity numbers and passports,” he said.
Ifeanyi Otudoh, head and senior consultant for cloud solutions at MTN Nigeria, said local hosting would generate jobs in areas such as cloud engineering, cybersecurity, facility management and support services.
“By decreasing dependence on foreign infrastructure, we can bolster the resilience of Nigerian digital services,” Otudoh said. “This shift empowers us to navigate global disruptions and changing foreign policies with greater confidence and stability.”
(The Africa Report)
