Nigeria harnesses $1bn public IT demand to power data cloud ecosystem

*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, at ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026, in Nairobi, discloses as the Nigerian Government harmonises digital standards with partner states, the country aims to enable cross-border data transfer frameworks that offer true digital self-determination, offering other African countries full agency over how their data is secured, hosted, and scaled on the continent

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Nigeria is issuing an open invitation to global technology giants and local infrastructure developers.

The country is also positioning for a shift from a consumer of offshore digital services into West Africa’s premier cloud computing power station.

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ConsumerConnect reports Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated this while speaking on the Federal Government’s ambitious vision for digital infrastructure.

Inuwa made a presentation at a workshop on “Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Opportunity” during ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026, in Nairobi, Kenyan capital, where highlighted a sweeping initiative aimed at providing regulatory certainty, creating structured demand, and building a sovereign cloud ecosystem capable of serving over 230 million citizens and the surrounding region.

He also said the core of the strategy addressed a glaring economic gap: despite massive domestic demand, the vast majority of Nigeria’s compute and digital value is currently routed through foreign servers.

On local data capacity

Inuwa said local data capacity still sits at nearly 90 percent utilisation, forcing the West African country to rely heavily on offshore resources.

However, in order to bridge this divide, the Director-General of NITDA disclosed the Federal Government is using its immense purchasing power as a catalyst.

Under a newly institutionalised “Cloud-First Policy,” Nigeria is consolidating fractured public sector IT spending to become a unified anchor customer for infrastructure builders, stated he.

The Chief Executive of the IT sector regulatory agency further revealed that between 2023 and mid-2026, 326 Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) spent N3.89 trillion (about US$2.9 billion) on technology investments.

The agency equally noted that the government demand alone generates nearly $1 billion annually.

This, he explained, is capital that government officials plan to direct entirely towards cloud and shared architecture to foster private sector agility rather than isolated public data centres.

Inuwa also said: “To ensure investor confidence, NITDA is replacing fragmented, unpredictable oversight with a unified regulatory approach.”

Measures to address investor challenges

Addressing a common hurdle for international investors, the agency is establishing a single-interface portal that streamlines compliance across multiple government bodies.

NITDA as well stated that through horizontal standards, cross-agency alignment allows sector watchdogs, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria to adopt shared baseline requirements.

It is noted that the arrangement enables financial institutions to migrate core data to local cloud systems seamlessly, without navigating redundant regulatory approvals.

Agency further officials emphasised that this framework is designed purely for market creation rather than revenue extraction, prioritising healthy competition and international interoperability over rigid localisation rules.

Explaining further, Inuwa said the economic fundamentals driving the push are compelling.

Update on Broadband penetration

The Director-General in his presentation said Nigeria’s Broadband penetration recently, jumped nearly 10 percentage points to exceed 56 percent, supported by a population boasting 192 million mobile subscribers and 157 million Internet users.

Referencing existing research, Inuwa noted the study estimated that every Dollar invested in Nigerian digital infrastructure yields eight Dollars in broader economic return

Current forecasts project the domestic cloud market to grow from 376 million Dollars this year to over 783 million Dollars by 2031.

Activating National Digital Cloud Policy

Government leaders believe their strategic clarity will accelerate this timeline significantly.

Beyond domestic borders, the ambition extends across Central and West Africa.

Leveraging Nigeria’s geographical position as a natural transit hub for landlocked neighbours, the National Digital Cloud Policy targets 750 million Dollars in total digital infrastructure investments within two years, starting with 250 million Dollars in private capital within the first year.

The Director-General of NITDA emphasised that by harmonising standards with partner states, Nigeria aims to pave the way for cross-border data transfer frameworks that offer true digital self-determination—giving African countries full agency over how their data is secure, hosted, and scaled on home soil.