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Mba-Uzoukwu, ISPON President Decries 30% Utilisation Rate of 11 Datacenters in Nigeria
Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, president, Institute of Software Practitioners Association of Nigeria (ISPON) has decried the under utilisation of the 11 data centres in Nigeria, putting the current utilisation rate at below 30%.
He noted that the low adoption indicated that despite the forecasted growth in installed capacity, the patronage by way of utilisation does not match the expected levels.
He made this known while speaking at a Technology Forum organized by the Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) in Lagos, with the theme: “Achieving 30% Growth In Local Cloud Hosting By 2024”.
According to Mba-Uzoukwu, “we are faced with a puzzling question: the housing estates that our friends are building against all odds in a super-challenging environment, will they be occupied by offshore tenants or ourselves?”
“There are 11 datacenters in Nigeria and the largest are expanding their capacity constantly in anticipation of a growing demand but currently the utilisation of capacity probably sits at below 30%.
“With four certified Tier 3 Constructed Facilities in Nigeria and more on the way, the Africa datacenter market is expected to cross $3bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR over 12%.
“This indicates that despite the forecasted growth in installed capacity, the patronage by way of utilisation does not match the expected levels”.
Unformed report also indicates that Galaxy Backbone Limited which is the only Uptime Institute Certified Tier 3 Datacenter in the public sector (in Nigeria) is currently estimated at 38% capacity utilisation of its 2.5MW capacity.
To this end, the President of ISPON said, “We must ask why”.
“The 2020 GSMA report highlights that availability of internet services has not translated to adoption while there is no established correlation between broadband availability and indicators of innovation such as hubs and software companies e.g. Aba, Enugu, Calabar, Benin and Jos have limited broadband and predominantly 2.5G/3G networks yet host significant innovation activity.
“ISPON’s research indicates that this puzzling scenario is directly related to local software – local in the sense of being developed by Nigerians for Nigerians to solve Nigerian problems.
“While we have seen phenomenal growth in the fintech space, the vector and velocity for the evolution of Software Nigeria as a whole remains constrained by the extent to which the Digital Economy which is emerging is anchored on local innovation and local utilisation.
“The datacenters performance is driven by users are large corporates and MNCs for whom data services are not taken lightly as they commit to long-term relationships on the basis of reliability especially High Availability which is indexed to global standards. In this context, Digital Transformation, especially in the public sector is critical pre-requisite.
“Digital Transformation delivers joined-up government that enables the policy and process of governance to ride on top of IT infrastructure from broadband to software solution stacks. It also presents opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation to flourish as solution providers get work to do. For this dynamic to be accelerated and proliferated, it is difficult to over-estimate or emphasise the importance of the Local Cloud which must be the initial point of access for a broad-based digital adoption and transformation strategy in a rising tide that lifts all.
“We often fail to recognise and prioritize this fundamental – perhaps it is an inconvenient truth?
“There is much to unpack in this but it will suffice to say that ISPON believes that the Software Nigeria and Data Nigeria are conjoined twins – separating the two is not only difficult but in this case, it is foolhardy because what we share is vital to the survival of each twin. Let us therefore proceed with this in mind!”
He also applauded NITRA for hosting the event, adding that ISPON sees the Association as an integral component of the technology ecosystem as partners as well as practitioners whose largely unsung efforts have been pivotal to the emergence of the industry we celebrate today as Africa’s most vibrant and fastest evolving technology ecosystem.
“ISPON celebrates you, one and all!
“We are therefore extremely pleased to be a part of this celebration and the discussions that follow will be one more block laid by NITRA in the tremendous role being played by your Association and members in the growth of the Digital Economy.
“We thank you for what you do and once again, give our assurances of a continued partnership.
Chike Onwuegbuchi, Chairman of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA), said that the theme was carefully selected to enable stakeholders in the information and Communications Technology to discuss issues that will bring growth and development to the sector.
“This edition”, he said, “we are looking at local cloud hosting a very important aspect of technological development.
“Cloud computing has been described as the greatest game changer since the creation of the internet and is one of the fastest growing areas of technology today. It can be simply defined as renting time on a computing infrastructure over the internet, rather than building your own from the ground up. In a way, it could be described as outsourcing your computer infrastructure.
“Cloud computing offers scalability and reliability that cannot be matched by a single enterprise.
“Today, we are talking of data protection. How can you protect data that is warehoused outside of our shores?
“Local cloud hosting also helps to keep our local internet traffic local as local content providers host their content in-country.
He also recalled that NITDA in 2019 launched Nigeria’s Cloud computing policy and one of the goals of this Policy is to ensure a 30% increase in adoption of cloud computing by 2024 among Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) and SMEs that provide digital-enabled services to the government.
“The policy also targets 35% growth in cloud computing investments by 2024. It is on this that we selected the theme of today’s event.
“When we are talking about local cloud hosting we can’t achieve it if we don’t patronize local datacenters; this informed the presences of datacentre operators in this discourse.
The Forum attracted industry stakeholders including corporate organisations; Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA); Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN); Cloudflex; Layer3; Vintage Confluence LLC and industry associations – ISPON, ALTON, ATCON, NCS, amongst others.
Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, has revealed that the federal government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme has trained over 135,000 citizens as it moves from pilot to national level.
Tijani announced this in an update on the program’s success, stating that the beneficiaries were trained in three batches.
He also stated that the initiative’s community-based learning tools had provided over 300,000 extra learners with access to digital skills training across the country.
According to the minister, the program has also enabled the creation of about 15,000 job, entrepreneurship, and career development in Nigeria’s developing digital economy.
He further revealed that more than 1.8 million Nigerians are currently in the 3MTT pipeline, as the government works toward its target of equipping three million citizens with in-demand digital skills aligned with local and global labour market needs.
As the programme enters its scale-up phase, Tijani said the government’s focus will shift toward deepening impact rather than just expanding numbers.
Key priorities, he explained, include strengthening the 3MTT alumni community, widening access to economic opportunities and ensuring that skills acquired through the programme translate into measurable outcomes such as jobs, business creation and innovation.
To support this phase, the federal government has introduced the #3MTTImpactChallenge, an initiative aimed at assessing the programme’s real-world impact
Through the challenge, fellows and partners are invited to share personal stories on how 3MTT has shaped their professional journeys as part of a National Impact Reflection exercise.
Participants are expected to share their experiences across social media platforms, with selected winners set to receive prizes including laptops, e-tablets, data bundles and other incentives.
MTN Foundation has kicked off the seventh phase of its ICT business skills training programme, targeting more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, mostly from Nigeria’s small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), in support of the Federal Government’s National Digital Economy and SME Development agenda.
MTN Foundation
The virtual training’s first week ran from Monday, January 5, to Friday, January 9, 2026. It equips small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with simple digital tools to shift from paper-based operations to efficient, productivity-boosting systems.
Business analyst Babajide Jolaolu-Kehinde, moderated by Temiloluwa Oyekanmi, programme and partnerships lead, introduced the SWOT framework—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—to guide participants in assessing and improving their businesses.
Jolaolu-Kehinde stressed digital record-keeping, online payments, and customer data tracking for measurable growth, aligning with government efforts to formalise SMEs. “Hope is good, but action and systems make growth happen,” he said.
Trainers showcased real-world examples: traders using handwritten ledgers expanded reach via WhatsApp Business, online marketplaces, and spreadsheets; others grew by accepting mobile transfers over cash and digital orders to tap distant markets.
Manual operations limit sales visibility and customer insights, experts noted, while digital tools deliver real-time data, cut errors, and unlock broader markets.
Participants must adopt at least one digital tool post-onboarding, with organisers promising follow-up workshops and mentorship. The four-week programme aims to bolster SME growth and Nigeria’s economic goals.
Spacecoin, US-based, has announced the signing of recent agreements with local authorities and operators to launch satellite connectivity pilot projects in Africa.
The initiatives, focused on Kenya and Nigeria, aim to serve areas where terrestrial networks remain limited or unavailable.
n Kenya, Spacecoin has obtained a transmission license from the Communications Authority, allowing it to test satellite-based solutions for connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas with limited internet access.
According to the Kenyan regulator, internet penetration remains below 50% of the population, despite mobile penetration exceeding 130%.
In parallel, the company is continuing operations in Nigeria under an existing license issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This authorization supports initiatives aimed at delivering affordable broadband connectivity to isolated and underserved communities.
Spacecoin’s approach is based on a decentralized satellite network using nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Combined with blockchain-based protocols, this architecture is intended to offer more flexible and cost-effective connectivity services than traditional networks, while also enabling the integration of IoT solutions for a range of uses, from smart agriculture to infrastructure monitoring.
These projects are part of a broader strategy to help narrow Africa’s digital divide, where a significant share of the population still lacks access to reliable internet services.
Satellite technology is increasingly viewed as a complement to terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas where deployment costs and geographic constraints remain high.
Beyond Africa, Spacecoin is also running pilot projects in Asia, working with local partners to test the viability of its model across different regulatory and geographic environments.
According to the company’s management, growing interest from regulators reflects a shift toward solutions capable of reaching populations that have long been excluded from internet access.
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