MTN Nigeria has officially completed the first phase of its massive new Dabengwa Sifiso Data Centre, a $235 million project set to dramatically expand the country’s digital infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign cloud hosting.
The facility, located in Lagos, has been built to meet Tier-III standards and can currently handle up to 4.5 megawatts of IT load across three floors, with enough room to host 780 server racks. When Phase 2 is completed, the data centre will be upgraded to a Tier-IV rating, doubling its IT load capacity to 9 megawatts and adding more than 1,500 racks.
According to MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, the project reflects the company’s long-term commitment to localising data hosting, enhancing data security, and supporting Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy.
“This data centre is a critical investment that helps keep our data sovereign, boosts compliance with Nigeria’s data protection laws, and strengthens local capacity to handle cloud services, AI applications, and enterprise storage,” Toriola said during the commissioning event in Lagos.
The new facility is expected to help reduce Nigeria’s significant capital flight on cloud hosting, which is currently estimated at over $350 million annually. Many Nigerian businesses and government agencies still rely on foreign data centres to host websites, applications, and customer data, exposing them to compliance and security risks while costing the economy valuable foreign exchange.
Industry experts say the facility’s local cloud and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) offerings — priced in naira — will be a game-changer for Nigerian startups, SMEs, and large corporations that previously struggled with high foreign-denominated cloud costs.
Beyond hosting, the Dabengwa Sifiso Data Centre is designed to support advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, self-orchestrating networks, and edge computing, laying the groundwork for innovation across sectors from fintech to health tech.
MTN Nigeria has also indicated that the centre will play a key role in expanding the company’s enterprise services, including disaster recovery, data backup, and managed security services for public and private organisations.
Digital policy advocates have welcomed the project, describing it as an important milestone towards achieving data sovereignty and improved local capacity. “Nigeria’s digital economy depends on our ability to store and process data here at home. Investments like this are crucial for resilience, innovation, and compliance,” said a representative of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
The data centre is part of MTN Group’s broader strategy to deepen its infrastructure across Africa and position itself as a leader in regional cloud services, AI readiness, and digital transformation.
As Phase 2 of the project kicks off, MTN says it remains committed to working with regulators and local partners to ensure the facility delivers maximum benefits to businesses and everyday users alike.
