With its newly launched Cloud service infrastructure alongside its $150 million 4.5MW data centre, MTN is set to wrestle the market from other service providers (commonly referred to as hyperscalers) and help reduce capital flight from the technology sector.
Hyperscalers are large-scale cloud service providers that offer highly scalable and flexible computing infrastructure. They operate massive data centres, enabling businesses to dynamically manage workloads, optimise costs, and drive innovation through cloud computing.
Statista noted that revenue from Nigeria’s public cloud market is projected to reach $1.63 billion in 2025, and infrastructure as a service is projected to hit $500.37 million by year’s end.
Hyperscalers include Amazon’s AWS, Google’s cloud, and Microsoft’s Azure.
Speaking at the media launch of MTN’s new data centre named after late former Group/Chief Executive Officer, Sifiso Dabengwa and computing infrastructure, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, disclosed that Nigerian businesses spent between $600 million and $850 million (N1.304 trillion) on cloud services in 2024.
Saint-Nwafor noted that MTN’s cloud service will launch at a 15 to 20 per cent discount. She said data centres play a critical role in digital economies, enabling the secure storage, processing, and management of data, adding that they also help with the localisation of content from global platforms like Meta and Google, providing resilience and eliminating latency.
The MTN chief disclosed that by offering in-country hosting, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions priced in naira, and full compliance with regulations like the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mandates, MTN is making a direct play to localise cloud spend and capture enterprise demand.
Saint-Nwafor noted that at the heart of MTN’s strategy is a push to democratise cloud access for startups and local developers, saying the MTN Cloud platform offers self-orchestration, mirroring what developers typically find on AWS or Google Cloud.
“I believe that we will be the first, or we are the first, to offer a self-orchestration data platform in Nigeria,” she stated.
On his part, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said with the data centre launch and cloud services, MTN is at the forefront of Nigeria’s digital space and ready to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) needs across the country as the firm expands the capacity of the data centre facility.
Toriola, who disclosed that about $150 million, has gone into Phase 1 of the investment, which boasts of 4.5MW capacity, also emphasised that the facility’s pay-as-you-use model, with services priced in naira, is a crucial advantage for companies looking to cut expenses and avoid foreign exchange challenges.
The facility is Nigeria’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, with 96 containerised modules and 1,500 racks. It is the largest in West Africa and is modular and distributed across three floors.
