Africa Data Centres, Africa’s largest network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, has confirmed a significant investment into the construction of a new data centre facility in Lagos, Nigeria.

Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres said, “Nigeria is a key African market. This region is hungry for digitisation and to pave the way for our hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa; Africa Data Centres’ construction of a 10-megawatt data centre in Lagos is well under way. Our expansion into Nigeria marks one aspect of the company’s growth on the continent. In response to demand generated by hyperscalers, key cloud operators and multinational enterprises already making use of our data centres, we have purchased the Samrand facility in South Africa and our key build in Midrand is under way. These same clients, who have trusted us with their expansions into Kenya and other African territories, have expressed their interest in bringing digitisation at scale to West Africa. Our leadership and best practice in data centre operations have made us the obvious choice in their expansion strategies.”

The Lagos build marks a significant step forward in Africa Data Centres’ ambitious long-term strategy to digitise Africa. The Nigerian data centre will form Africa Data Centres’ West African hub. As interconnection remains a priority, the company will be adding it to its network of data centres, which at present includes Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cape Town, Harare and Kigali.

The creation of a digital hub is the beginning of digital transformation capabilities for the region. Naturally, multinational enterprises will wish to be housed under the same roof as our hyperscaler customers due to the lower latency enjoyed. As such, the combination of cloud providers and enterprises make these data centres marketplaces of the ecosystem and, most importantly, the base for the country’s digital and economic development. Additionally, keeping African data on African soil is another key consideration driving the demand for local data centre facilities.

Africa Data Centres has indicated that the Lagos build will spur the economy, creating job opportunities in various sectors. “The stimulus effect to the economy of digitisation is well documented and Nigeria is ready for this technology boon. Furthermore, our construction policy is to uplift the community as far as possible, employing local contractors and creating work opportunities within the communities we enter, so the job creation opportunities are realised at both grassroots and hi-tech levels. Digitising the continent at the cost of the environment is not a sacrifice Africa Data Centres is prepared to entertain. Our strategy encompasses empowering and uplifting the people, the environment and the economy,” added Duproz.

Having secured premium land in Lagos, Africa Data Centres has designed its latest data centre facility in line with environmental best practice, using grey or non-potable water for cooling and utilising solar energy to offset its reliance on the grid