NITDA seeks more investment in data centres

The National Information Technology Development Agency is seeking increased investment in Nigeria’s data centre infrastructure as the country’s expanding digital economy drives demand for computing, storage and connectivity capacity.

NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, made the call during a panel session on “Converting Digital Demand into Data Centre Investment” at the recently concluded ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026.

The discussion brought together executives from Digital Realty Nigeria, Equinix, Africa Hyperscalers and Oracle to examine how rising digital demand could translate into investment in the infrastructure required to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other digital services.

Inuwa said Nigeria needed clear government policies, regulatory certainty and secure digital ecosystems to convert its growing digital footprint into sustainable infrastructure investment.

“The primary responsibility of the government is to clearly establish strategic intentions, creating a stable framework that not only guides what needs to be built but actively catalyses growth across the tech landscape,” he said.

He said regulatory certainty would give investors greater confidence to commit capital to infrastructure, adding that operators needed clarity on how digital infrastructure would be deployed, governed and consumed.

“By giving investors full regulatory certainty, operators can build with confidence, knowing precisely how infrastructure will be deployed, governed, and consumed across the market,” Inuwa said.

Data centres provide the computing and storage infrastructure that supports digital services, including cloud platforms and increasingly data-intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence.

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As more businesses and consumers rely on digital services, the availability of reliable infrastructure becomes increasingly important to the expansion of the digital economy.

Inuwa said Nigeria’s investment proposition extended beyond its population, pointing to growing demand created by localised digital workloads, its geographical position and its pool of technology talent.

He said Nigeria could leverage its location to become a major transit and connectivity hub for West and Central Africa while using its technology workforce to develop solutions on modern digital networks.

The NITDA boss also identified cybersecurity as an important part of the infrastructure required to attract and sustain digital investment.

He said the agency was embedding digital trust into national development through measures including the Digital Assurance Framework, the Cybercrime Act and the broader National Cybersecurity Architecture.

According to him, government information technology projects were now subject to cybersecurity-by-design clearances, covering infrastructure ranging from last-mile devices to critical national infrastructure.

Inuwa said the policy and security measures were intended to provide the predictable foundation needed to support investment in data centres, cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

The panel also featured Ike Nnamani of Digital Realty Nigeria, Wole Abu of Equinix, Temitope Osunrinde of Africa Hyperscalers and Cherotich Kiereini of Oracle.