Strategic Push into AI and Cloud Services to Anchor in Eko Atlantic
Airtel Nigeria is gearing up to significantly deepen its digital infrastructure footprint with the construction of a 38-megawatt (MW) hyperscale data centre in Lagos — a development poised to become the country’s largest of its kind. The ambitious project, announced at a media roundtable with Airtel CEO hosted at the Radisson Hotel in Lagos, signals the telecom giant’s intent to position itself at the forefront of Nigeria’s rapidly growing cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) economy.
Eko Atlantic Chosen for Strategic Advantage
The state-of-the-art facility will be located in Eko Atlantic City, a high-profile business district built on reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean. With its reputation as one of West Africa’s most exclusive and secure commercial hubs, the location already hosts corporate heavyweights such as First Bank of Nigeria, Dangote Group, and MTN Nigeria — the latter currently relocating its national headquarters there.
According to Airtel Nigeria’s Director of Business, Ogo Ofomata, the decision to site the data centre in Eko Atlantic was deliberate. “We are building it there for its security and access to reliable power,” she explained. “It’s not just for flex; it’s about long-term infrastructure at scale.”
Aiming for Scale and Performance
Although Airtel has not disclosed the estimated cost or projected completion date of the facility, construction is expected to commence in earnest next year. The company said the data centre is being engineered to deliver 38MW of IT load, supporting high-performance server racks of up to 6 kilowatts — a critical infrastructure setup for next-generation computing.
“We’re building for high-performance workloads,” Ofomata noted. “The centre will be hyperscale-ready but also tailored to meet the needs of SMEs and local businesses.”
Airtel’s Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, added that the facility would be foundational not just for cloud hosting but also for AI development. “Data centres are not just for cloud; they are foundational to AI,” he said. “We’re preparing Nigeria for what’s next.”
Part of a Broader Infrastructure Push
The Lagos data centre is part of Airtel Africa’s broader strategy to expand digital infrastructure across key markets on the continent. It also aligns with a wider trend of rising investments in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure sector. Global tech giants and regional players have been ramping up activity in the space — including Equinix (through its acquisition of MainOne), Africa Data Centres, Rack Centre, Kasi Cloud, and MTN.
Nigeria’s Growing Data Centre Market
Nigeria’s data centre industry is witnessing rapid expansion. Total capacity is projected to surge from 136.7MW in 2025 to approximately 279.4MW by 2030, based on industry estimates. Analysts also expect the sector’s market value to climb to $671 million by the end of the decade, making Nigeria the second-largest data centre hub in Africa, trailing only South Africa.
With over 50 million mobile subscribers, Airtel’s move into hyperscale infrastructure could significantly bolster Nigeria’s ability to support cloud computing, AI development, and enterprise digital transformation.
In a market racing towards digital maturity, Airtel’s hyperscale ambition signals not just competition — but a commitment to anchoring Nigeria’s tech future.