NITDA: Nigeria Poised to Become Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Hub

Nigeria is positioning itself as an emerging hub for cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure as the country intensifies efforts to accelerate its digital transformation.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, stated this at the ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026 workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, themed “Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Opportunity.”

Inuwa highlighted Nigeria’s large digital market, noting that the country has a population of more than 230 million people, 192 million mobile subscribers and about 157 million internet users, with broadband penetration exceeding 56 percent.

He, however, said a significant portion of Nigeria’s digital value and computing capacity remains offshore, creating a strong opportunity for increased investment in local digital infrastructure.

The NITDA chief said the Federal Government’s Cloud-First Policy was helping to drive investment by positioning the public sector as a major anchor customer for cloud services.

According to him, 326 federal government agencies invested more than N3.89 trillion in information technology infrastructure between 2023 and June 2026. He said this spending represents significant demand that could increasingly shift towards cloud-based services.

Inuwa also disclosed that NITDA was prioritising regulatory clarity, open competition and harmonised processes to attract both local and international investors into Nigeria’s digital infrastructure sector.

He noted that Nigeria’s strategic location as a gateway to West and Central Africa, combined with growing demand for data centres, gives the country a competitive advantage in the digital infrastructure market.

With the cloud and data services market projected to reach $783 million by 2031, Inuwa said Nigeria has the potential to become one of Africa’s most attractive destinations for investment in cloud, computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

He stressed that unlocking this opportunity would require continued investment in infrastructure, supportive regulation and an environment capable of attracting both domestic and international technology investors.