MTN Nigeria is set to launch a new 1,500-rack, Tier 4 data centre before the end of the current quarter, according to Yahaya Ibrahim, the company’s chief technical officer.
The facility, announced in June 2024, is part of MTN’s strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s ICT infrastructure amid surging demand for data services.
Ibrahim said, “Our new data centre is almost complete and is scheduled to go live this quarter. It is part of our broader strategy to support the continued growth of ICT services across the country.” This follows Airtel Nigeria’s groundbreaking for its first data centre in Lagos in March 2024, signaling a competitive push among telecom giants to meet rising data needs.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) highlights the urgency: average monthly internet usage has skyrocketed by 685.69 percent, from 125,149.86 terabytes in December 2019 to 983,283.43 terabytes in April 2025. This surge, driven by streaming services and digital activities, has prompted MTN and Airtel, which together hold 86.35 percent of Nigeria’s mobile subscriber base, to invest heavily in data infrastructure.
The new data centre will enhance MTN’s capacity to handle growing demand and ensure service reliability. Mohammed Rufai, former MTN Nigeria chief technical officer and current CEO of MTN Congo-Brazzaville, emphasized, “With sufficient headroom, we can cater to growth and sudden demand rise, ensuring a seamless experience for our subscribers.”
Nigeria’s data centre landscape is expanding, with operators like Equinix, RackCentre, and Open Access Data Centres (OADC) committing over $630 million to new facilities. However, gaps persist. Ibrahim noted, “We need more data centres in the country. It’s not just about keeping up with data growth, it’s also about ensuring geographical redundancy.”
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Lagos, hosting 13 of Nigeria’s 16 operational data centres, dominates due to its proximity to submarine cable landing points, ranking third in Africa behind Johannesburg (31) and Nairobi (15).
Data centres are vital for digital economies, enabling secure data storage, processing, and content localization for platforms like Meta and Google. They also provide resilience against disruptions, such as the major West African internet outage in 2024 caused by undersea cable failures.
Despite progress, Nigeria’s 16 data centres represent just eight percent of Africa’s 198 facilities and one percent of global capacity. According to Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, the country’s data centre market, valued at $278 million in 2024 with a 136.7MW capacity, is projected to reach $671 million and 279.4MW by 2030.
Ayotunde Coker, managing director of OADC, stressed the need for more investment: “We must build numerous data centres to bring data storage and processing closer to Africa, driving consumption and transforming lives and businesses.”
