By The Tier Three nine megawatts capacity Data Center that costs MTN Nigeria $150 million to build within a space of about three years has positioned Nigeria to effortlessly achieve her $1 trillion economy target.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, was full of praises for the MTN Nigeria Plc management and staff team for bequeating to the Nigerian Government such a digital infrastructure that has the capacity to leapfrog the nation into a destination of global digital economy of repute.
Delivery a keynote address today in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria before he commissioned the digital edifice, Tijani reaveled that services offerred by the Data Center will provide the also have the platform for nation’s young people to be able to thrive.
According to him, MTN Nigeria by this gesture MTN is reinforcing Nigeria’s position of the digital backbone of the West African economy.
Tijani described the construction of the Tier Three Data Center as MTN’s contribution towards building the dream economy of Nigeria.
While thanking MTN Nigeria for her consistent contributions to building the Nigeria economy, he stated that “you cannot build a modern economy without a mordern infrastructure.”
He added that the facility is part of the digital foundation needed for a modern economy to thrive, and that drive the services of GDP today.
The Minister observed that it is through the Data Center that the nation can enable digital sovereignty and national productivity.
Recalling the journey towards the construction of the Data Center, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria Plc, Dr Karl Toriola described the Data Center as MTN’s exceptional investment in Nigeria.
He said: “We are opening the largest data centre in West Africa. It is lined with current traffic today, with a capacity of 4.5 megawatts, which will grow to 14 megawatts over the next 24 months or so”
According to him, the commissioning of the state-of-the-art data centre and launch of a new cloud platform, it’s a representation of technological investment that doubles as a full statement of MTN’s steadfast commitment to Nigeria’s digital future, in line with the direction and policy of the Nigerian Government of digitising the economy, both in terms of driving economic activity and driving skills in the country.
Tooriola said the Data Center is a significant leap in the digital landscape to meet increasing demands of Nigerian businesses for solutions that foster growth and innovation.
“Businesses can digitise their processes, improve efficiency, and drive economic growth across the nation.
“Our data centre is a vital resource to propel exponential growth in data usage and the data economy, and to enhance the delivery of content from major technology companies, bringing content closer to Nigerian users and improving access to speed.
“This local hosting of content will significantly boost user experience and service delivery.”
Describing further how the Data Center looks like, he said, “These facilities are designed to provide the highest levels of reliability, scalability, and security.
“They not only comply with local regulations, the regulations on data protection and privacy being one of the most important, but they also align with our ESG principles, and the data centre is equipped with advanced cooling and power systems, redundant network connections with seven degrees of connection to the data centre, rigorous security protocols to safeguard data against potential threats, and most importantly, it ensures our clients’ data is always safe and always accessible to them.”
The MTN Nigeria boss disclosed that the yello brand vision aligns with that of the federal government of Nigeria, “goes beyond providing solid infrastructure to Nigerian businesses.”
He said, “We are committed to building sovereign, locally managed, globally competitive digital platforms that will enable businesses to scale faster and innovate more securely while recharging services.”
Toriola promised that MTN will continue to invest in research and development and explore new technologies and new innovations.
“At MTN, we believe that everyone, particularly Nigerians and Africans, deserve the benefits of a modern, connected life, and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to push boundaries for this purpose and make the seemingly impossible, unfeelable, feasible, and possible.”
He said that the Data Center already have customers saying that the second one, which is the local cloud effectively competes with the hyperscalers and allows tech companies and innovators to secure cloud capacity for computing and storage in Naira at a very competitive price compared to the hyperscalers, which are generally American companies.
“Together, we are shaping the future of digital transformation in Nigeria, and we are beyond excited about all that is ahead of us”, he said.
He said that the facility ia named after Mr. Sitiso Dabengwa, who was, at some point in time, the CEO of NTN Nigeria, and instrumental to the acceleration of growth of MTN in Nigeria, and also, at a point in time, the group CEO of NTN.
Earlier in a brief remark, the board chairman for MTN Nigeria, Engr Ernest Ndukwe said that “Putting up an infrastructure of this size and complexity is not an easy task and I’d like to seize the opportunity to thank all those who have been working tirelessly to make this happen.”
In his address, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Sanwo-olu, who was represented by the Secretary to State Government, Mrs Bimbo Salu-Hudeyin said that the unveiling marks a significant step in Nigeria’s journey towards full digital transformation and economic resilience.
“The launch of the Dabengwa Data Center in Lagos not only signifies MTN’s unwavering commitment to investing in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure but also reinforces the strategic importance of Lagos State as a technology and innovation hub of our nation”, she said.
She added: “With this Tier 3 facility MTN is raising the bar for secure, scalable and efficient enterprise services which is a critical enabler of businesses, public services, startups and multinational corporations alike.”
The SSG stressed that Lagos being home to a population moving closer to 30 million people and Nigeria’s economic health center, Nigeria’s commercial capital, the number one business hub of Nigeria, and the third largest economy in West Africa, the fifth largest economy in Africa and the fastest growing mega city in the world is obviously the natural choice for such a forward-looking investment.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in his goodwill message Commended MTN for being at the forefront of digital innovation in Nigeria, saying that “The Commission remains committed to creating an environment that supports innovation while ensuring the highest standards of cybersecurity, data protection, and a robust internet infrastructure and service quality.”
Maida who was represented by the Deputy Director, New Media and Information Security, Banagan Digima, said “we will continue to work closely with operators to ensure that critical infrastructure deployment meets robust standards our digital economy deserves.”
AI-driven energy optimisation is a cornerstone of the Dabengwa Data Centre’s design. Artificial intelligence algorithms intelligently manage workloads and optimise energy sources, including the utilisation of green energy, to significantly reduce the facility’s carbon footprint. This commitment to efficiency ensures that businesses leveraging the Dabengwa Data Centre benefit from a sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure.
Speaking on the data centre and MTN Cloud, which was also unveiled to help Nigerian businesses, and boost the country’s digital eco-system, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said that the innovation has launched Nigeria into a new tech era.
“A few weeks from now, we’ll launch the MTN Cloud Accelerator for Africa. This isn’t just another accelerator, but one that would empower the Nigeria tech-ecosystem for growth,” she said.
The MTN Cloud Accelerator Program is tailored to support startups in the ecosystem with training and resources they needed to thrive. The MTN Cloud was built in Africa but can be accessed by local and global businesses.
The MTN Nigeria Data Center is a landmark collaboration with Dell Technologies, and a state-of-the-art facility poised to revolutionise enterprise IT infrastructure across West Africa with its comprehensive cloud services offering.
