A new wave of global and regional investments into advanced data centers in Nigeria may be the catalyst that propels the nation to become a leader in the artificial intelligence infrastructure space in Africa.

Equinix Inc., Microsoft Corp., MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Rack Centre, Airtel Nigeria, and Open Access Data Centres are among the companies spearheading large-scale investments, about $1 billion, designed to support artificial intelligence workloads and the continent’s expanding online population.

A new digital race heats up in Nigeria

Nigeria has a population of about 240 million people, and the majority are very young, digitally aware, and tech-savvy. That population is driving a data explosion, which is pushing businesses to move from on-premises servers to cloud and hybrid systems, increasing demand for faster, more resilient infrastructure built closer to users.

Wole Abu, managing director for West Africa at Equinix, said the company is investing $140 million to expand its Nigerian operations, adding that AI will be a major catalyst for infrastructure diversification over the next decade. 

“As Nigeria works toward its ambitious 70% digital literacy target by 2027, you’ll see exponentially more users generating data and requiring AI-enhanced services,” he said. The country’s current digital literacy rate stands at roughly 50%.

The boom is not just about storage or connectivity. As Abideen Yusuf, general manager for Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, noted, “Powered by a youthful population, expanding internet access, and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, Nigeria is emerging as a digital leader in Africa.” 

According to Yusuf, the country’s cloud computing market is growing at a compound annual rate of 26%, with its value expected to reach $3.28 billion by 2030 from an estimated $1.03 billion in 2025, according to data from Mordor Intelligence.

Digital solutions for Africa

The Itana Digital Zone, the first digital free trade zone in Nigeria and Africa, reportedly modeled after Dubai’s Internet City, is building Africa’s first full-stack zone for AI and data companies, offering tax breaks, simplified immigration, and startup-friendly policies. 

Chief Executive Officer Mayowa Olugbile said the goal is to create a digital-first jurisdiction where startups can scale across the continent using locally priced services. “With the right policy support, Nigeria can still become one of the world’s fastest-growing cloud markets,” he said. “Affordability will be the critical hurdle.”

Equinix’s Abu said the focus is on building African AI capabilities rather than importing Western solutions, models trained in local languages and designed to address local and regional challenges.

Building through constraints

Despite its digital potential, Nigeria’s infrastructure deficits continue to act as stumbling blocks. Frequent blackouts and high energy costs continue to weigh on the sector’s profitability. Although the country has about 13,000 megawatts (MW) of installed power generation capacity, only around 5,800 MW reach the grid, forcing operators to build their own energy sources.

However, according to a report titled “Nigeria Data Center Market Investment Report 2025-2030,” the total core and shell power capacity of third-party data centers in Nigeria was approximately 65.8 MW as of December 2024. The report also pointed out that work is being done to take that number up, as 327.8 MW is currently under construction or in the planned stages.

Open Access Data Centres (OADC), for example, plans to rely mainly on natural gas to power its hyperscale Lagos facility. “Gas is our most sustainable approach,” said Chief Executive Officer Ayotunde Coker. “You want to hit 98–99% availability so that you revert to diesel as little as possible—ideally, not at all.”

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