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West Africa’s Largest Tier III Data Centre – Key Details
- Launch Date & Investment
MTN Nigeria officially launched the first phase on July 1, 2025, investing US $120 million in a Tier III modular data centre, with IT capacity currently at 4.5 MW and plans to expand to 9 MW (and potentially up to 14 MW). - Naming & Infrastructure
The centre—named the Dabengwa Sifiso Data & Cloud Centre after former MTN CEO Sifiso Dabengwa—features 96 containerised modules, 1,500 racks, and spans three floors. It is claimed to be West Africa’s largest prefabricated modular data centre. - Strategic Advantages
- Local Hosting & Sovereignty: Reduces exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations, improves latency, ensures data sovereignty, and supports compliance with Nigerian regulations (NDPC, NITDA).
- Naira Pricing: Services priced in Nigerian naira to counter rising costs from AWS, Azure, Google Cloud (especially amid recent currency devaluation).
- Pay-as-You-Use Offering: Cloud infrastructure allows enterprises, startups, and even government agencies to scale dynamically—akin to major hyperscalers.
- Market Scope & Clients
Target customers span banks, oil firms, tech startups, e-learning, content platforms, and federal/state agencies—the Abia State government and Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Communications are among the first clients. - Future & Growth
- Phase 2 investment of ~US $135 million will double capacity to 9 MW, with potential for Tier IV certification.
- MTN plans to support AI, big data, IoT, e‑government, fintech, and more—fuelled by Nigeria’s cloud market, projected at US $1 billion in 2025, growing 26% annually to US $3.3 billion by 2030.
- Resilience & Sustainability
- Modular power and cooling systems; backup transformers and generators ensure reliability.
- Designed with energy-efficient cooling (addressing that ~60% of energy goes to cooling in hot climates) and intended ESG screening via renewable and gas power sources.
What This Means & Why It Matters
🎯 Competitive Edge:
By offering cloud services in naira with low-latency connectivity and local support, MTN is positioning itself as a strong competitor to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—attracting cost-sensitive local businesses.
📈 Economic Impact:
This centre not only boosts MTN’s “Ambition 2025” objective but also catalyses job creation in cloud engineering, cybersecurity, data centre management, and fosters digital innovation across sectors.
🔒 Sovereignty & Regulation:
Hosting data locally bolsters national security, safeguards regulatory compliance, and reduces dependency on foreign data infrastructure prone to international disruptions.
🗣 Voices from the Ground
Redditors discussing Nigeria’s tech scene highlighted infrastructural challenges:
“The problem is, some innovations here are fundamentally unsustainable—not because of lack of ambition, but because basic infrastructure isn’t there, especially reliable energy.”
A valid concern—MTN’s substantial investment in backup power and cooling systems will be critical to long-term operational success.
In summary, MTN’s new Tier III Dabengwa Sifiso Data & Cloud Centre is a strategic milestone—a locally hosted, naira-priced, modular cloud hub aiming to rival AWS, Azure, and Google in West Africa. It promises enhanced performance, data sovereignty, and affordability for Nigerian businesses.
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