ABUJA, Aug 18 – Nigeria’s National Digital Cloud Policy is targeting $750 million in private investment over the next 24 months as the intend to expand the country’s cloud and data centre infrastructure.
The policy was unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy as part of the government’s strategic plan to develop Nigeria’s digital economy and attract more investment into the sector.
Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said the government aims to attract $250 million in private investment within the first 12 months before increasing the target to $750 million over 24 months.
The policy is designed to position Nigeria as a regional hub for digital services and data hosting, while improving government services, building local digital skills and putting safeguards in place for government and other regulated data.
It focuses on four main areas, including investment and market development, regional digital services exports, government cloud transformation, and digital sovereignty and security.
A key part of the policy is the government’s plan to combine its demand for cloud services instead of allowing different agencies to purchase services separately. The government expects this approach to reduce repeated spending, secure better prices and create steady demand that can encourage private companies to invest in local digital infrastructure.
Tijani said the government wants Nigeria to move beyond being mainly a consumer of global cloud infrastructure and become a competitive location for cloud investment, infrastructure, skills and digital services serving both Nigeria and the wider African market.
Under the policy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will oversee regulation, standards and assurance, while Galaxy Backbone Limited will handle operational delivery, shared infrastructure and demand aggregation. The Bureau of Public Procurement will ensure that the programme follows public procurement rules.
A Sovereign Government Cloud Governance Committee, chaired by the minister, will also provide strategic oversight and coordinate the implementation of the government’s cloud sovereignty framework.
The policy will be implemented through a 24-month roadmap, with the first six months focused on setting up the policy, assessing existing infrastructure, issuing implementation guidelines and creating the required institutional structures.
Between six and 12 months, the government plans to launch the National Digital Marketplace, begin moving priority government agencies to cloud services, register providers and start activities aimed at developing regional markets. The following 12 months will focus on expanding government migration, increasing cloud capacity, bringing states into the programme and growing regional digital service exports.
The push for a stronger sovereign cloud system comes as Nigeria faces growing cybersecurity risks while more government and business services move online.
In May, NITDA’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team warned about DeepLoad, an artificial intelligence-powered malware targeting government agencies, financial institutions, businesses and individuals, highlighting the need for stronger security and protection as Nigeria expands its digital infrastructure.
