Nigeria is seeking to expand local cloud infrastructure to reduce the cost of digital services, limit capital outflows and create jobs as the government pushes to strengthen the country’s digital economy.
The National Information Technology Development Agency is working with local data centre operators and global cloud providers to increase domestic cloud capacity under a new National Sovereign Cloud initiative, NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa said.
Inuwa said more than 85 per cent of Nigeria’s workloads currently run on public cloud platforms, with much of the infrastructure hosted outside the country.
The government wants global cloud providers to invest in local infrastructure rather than simply serve Nigerian customers remotely, he said.
“Our goal is not to take away the public cloud. It’s to get hyperscalers to localise,” Inuwa said in an interview. The initiative is intended to build domestic capacity for what NITDA describes as digital self-determination, while ensuring that critical data and services can continue operating during disruptions to international connectivity.
Nigeria’s reliance on overseas cloud infrastructure also means that businesses and consumers can be exposed to foreign-currency costs, Inuwa said.
