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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Technology

‘Nigeria loses $850m yearly to foreign cloud providers’

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Nigeria loses an estimated $850 million annually to foreign cloud providers, according to Kasi Cloud.
  • Local enterprises host critical digital operations outside the country, leading to capital flight and foreign exchange pressure.
  • Kasi Cloud commissioned a new data center in Lagos to offer local, AI-ready cloud infrastructure and promote sovereign digital services.

Nigeria is losing a significant portion of its digital economy to foreign cloud providers, with an estimated $850 million flowing out of the country each year. This reliance on overseas infrastructure, primarily in Europe and North America, impacts banks, fintech companies, telecom operators, and government institutions, contributing to capital flight and exposing sensitive Nigerian data to foreign jurisdictions.

Nigerian enterprises currently spend an estimated $850m annually on foreign cloud infrastructure capital that flows out of the economy and sits under foreign legal jurisdiction.

— Kasi CloudA statement detailing the financial impact of hosting data abroad.

Kasi Cloud has commissioned its Hyperscale AI-Ready Data Centre, LOS1, in Lagos, aiming to reverse this trend. The facility is designed to provide institutional-grade, AI-ready cloud infrastructure hosted within Nigeria, aligning with the nation's National Cloud Policy 2025. This initiative seeks to foster sovereign digital infrastructure and local value creation.

For too long, Africa’s data has powered someone else’s economy. Today, that changes.

— Johnson AgogbuaDuring the commissioning ceremony of Kasi Cloud's new data center, highlighting the shift towards local data infrastructure.

Johnson Agogbua, CEO of Kasi Cloud, emphasized the strategic importance of local cloud infrastructure, stating, "For too long, Africa’s data has powered someone else’s economy. Today, that changes." He highlighted the urgency for African countries to develop local computing power to support innovation and research in the age of artificial intelligence.

This flag-off marks the transition from development into commissioning and operational readiness as we deliver world-class sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure, built in Lagos, for Africa’s digital future.

— Johnson AgogbuaDescribing the significance of the new data center's operational readiness.

Nigeria's Finance Minister, Taiwo Oyedele, described the new data center as strategic national infrastructure. He believes it will bolster innovation, enhance productivity, and position Nigeria more competitively in the global AI economy, strengthening the foundation for technological advancement and enterprise opportunities.

We live in a moment when artificial intelligence rewrites the rules of economic competition.

— Johnson AgogbuaEmphasizing the transformative power of AI on global economics.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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