Lagos, home to more than 20 million inhabitants, is reinforcing its role as Nigeria’s technological hub by progressively increasing its data center presence to better integrate with the wider digital infrastructure across Africa.
Lagos, Nigeria’s economic center, houses the majority of the nation’s 16 active data centers, such as those operated by Google, MainOne (now part of Equinix), and Africa Data Centers. This places West Africa in a broader landscape featuring more than 100 facilities across the continent, providing around 308 megawatts of capacity, with South Africa leading this development.
In 2023, Nigeria’s data center market was estimated at $648.4 million and is forecasted to surge to $972.53 million by 2032, as reported by Credence Research, an international market analysis company. This expansion is largely fueled by Lagos, which benefits from increasing requirements for co-location and cloud solutions.
The city expanded its capabilities last week with the opening of Rack Centre’s LGS2, a 12 MW data center which stands as the biggest in West Africa. This state-of-the-art facility was built for optimal energy efficiency and scalability to cater to businesses, cloud service providers, and financial institutions.
Although South Africa continues to lead in data leadership across Africa, Lagos is rapidly becoming a significant player, according to industry experts. The trend has been supported by Open Access Data Centres, which belongs to the WIOCC Group, after they pledged $240 million last month. This investment aims to develop up to 24 MW capacity by 2027, capitalizing on Lagos’ strong economy.
“The new Rack Centre marks a significant step towards our collective aim of transforming Lagos into a smart, internationally competitive digital center,” stated Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as per his representative Sam Egube, the Deputy Chief of Staff.
“By putting money into this cutting-edge technology, we’re drawing investors worldwide who view Lagos not only as a city but also as a center for innovation and digital change,” Sanwo-Olu said additionally.
Currently, Lagos is seeing the building of four additional data centers and is significantly investing in digital infrastructure through the creation of a fiber-optic network that extends roughly 6,800 kilometers throughout the region.
The initial stage of this extensive initiative, which spans 3,500 kilometers, has been finished with the aim of boosting bandwidth access across Lagos.
Now that the new Rack Centre facility is up and running, the company’s data center capacity has multiplied eight times over, reinforcing its status as a premier digital infrastructure hub in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“It should be highlighted that Rack Centre stands as the sole data center situated on Lagos Mainland, and its closeness to essential governmental facilities,” stated Maher Jamalkhani, the chairman of Rack Centre, in an announcement provided to The PUNCH.
The chairman disclosed that the facility offers the necessary connectivity which ensures Alausa’s daily communication and cloud services are both efficient and dependable.
“Rack Centre’s facilities guarantee rapid and secure transmission of each data packet, and our function as a digital switching hub will expand further—linking individuals, enterprises, and concepts to foster an exceptionally advanced community,” he stated.
According to Lars Johannisson, the CEO of Rack Centre, this recently inaugurated facility represents a crucial step forward in Nigeria’s journey towards digital transformation.
“The facility serves as a vital component in the expanding digital infrastructure of Lagos, Nigeria, positioning Lagos at the leading edge of data center technology, innovation, and environment,” stated the CEO.
By the close of 2025, Lagos is expected to contribute an additional 180 megawatts of power capacity to Nigeria’s data center landscape, representing approximately 70 percent of the nation’s anticipated increase in capacity.
However, with only 70 MW currently available, the state is significantly below the required 600 MW needed to satisfy both local and international demands—an inadequacy highlighted by Geniserve’s CEO, Gbenga Adegbiji. He notes this shortfall discourages major players such as Microsoft and Amazon from extensively launching their cloud services in the area.
We require additional data centers positioned close to strong network infrastructures,” he stated to The PUNCH. “In the absence of connectivity, a data center merely becomes a storage facility.
Provided by Syndigate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
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