The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated the Technical Working Group (TWG) on National Cloud Infrastructure as part of its current drive to bolster Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
This initiative aims to enhance local cloud capabilities, attract hyper-scale investments, and position Nigeria as a leading technology hub in Africa.
Speaking at the inauguration event, NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, stressed the need for accurate data and regulatory frameworks to support these initiatives, necessary for Nigeria to control its digital infrastructure, data, and technological future.
He said: “Without this foundation, we cannot achieve true digital sovereignty. Our goal is to build an ecosystem where both local data centre providers can scale, and global hyper-scalers see Nigeria as a viable investment destination.”
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While identifying lack of accurate data on Nigeria’s IT infrastructure as one of the major challenges undermining the growth of the sector, Inuwa disclosed that while Africa comprised nearly 19% of the world’s population, it hosts less than 1% of global data centres.
According to him, this disparity, coupled with limited insights into Nigeria’s existing IT capacity, hampers investment efforts and without clear data on our infrastructure, attracting investment becomes challenging.
To address this challenge, the NITDA boss maintained that the agency had commissioned comprehensive research to assess Nigeria’s digital landscape, which findings have highlighted the need for improved regulatory frameworks, clearer investment incentives, and stronger public-private collaboration.
Inuwa added that following the initiative, NITDA had engaged global consultants to redefine strategies for cloud development.
As the TWG embarks on its mission, he urged industry experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to contribute their expertise and resources, adding that “with collective effort, Nigeria can emerge as the premier digital hub for West and Central Africa.”
While corroborating the Director-General’s point of views, the agency’s Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, underscored the importance of regulatory intervention in fostering a robust digital economy.
He said: “Our objective is to establish policies and legal frameworks that support cloud development, enabling us to securely host and manage our data. This is crucial for the growth of our digital economy.”
Edet also harped on the necessity of capacity building, pointing out that “equipping ourselves with top-tier training and expertise is essential to fully leverage digital technologies.”
He appealed to all stakeholders to actively participate in shaping Nigeria’s digital future, adding that “collaboratively, we must develop a framework that reflects our national interests, and it should be widely accepted. This effort will define Nigeria’s role in the global digital arena.”
Experts believe that the TWG will help in the drive to attract hyperscale investments and enhance local cloud capabilities by proffering measures to encourage the use of accurate data, recommend the enactment and compliance to enabling policies.
Members of the TWG, which includes Google, AWS, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, HUAWEI Cloud, Equinix, Kasi, Rack Centre, Africa Data Centres, several other data centre operators and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, expressed readiness to volunteer and contribute resources to ensure the achievement of its mandate.
