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Global digital infrastructure leader Equinix has announced plans to establish a new $22 million data centre in Lagos, marking its first greenfield facility in West Africa. The development signals a major milestone in Equinix’s strategic expansion across Africa’s rapidly growing digital ecosystem.
The new facility, named LG3, is designed to serve both local enterprises and international firms seeking to scale operations in one of Africa’s most dynamic digital markets. Scheduled to go live in the first quarter of 2026, the project represents the initial phase of Equinix’s $100 million investment plan aimed at accelerating Africa’s digital transformation over the next two years.
Lagos: Nigeria’s Digital Powerhouse
As Nigeria’s leading digital hub, Lagos is home to more than 18 million active internet subscribers and the country’s highest concentration of fintechs, banks, telecom operators, and enterprise clients. The city’s strategic position as a landing point for multiple subsea cable systems enhances its role as a gateway for global connectivity.
With Nigeria’s data centre market projected to reach $684 million by 2030, Lagos alone accounts for over 30% of the market share, underscoring its pivotal role in supporting the country’s growing demand for reliable digital infrastructure.
“As Lagos emerges at the crossroads of talent, innovation, and global connectivity, this facility is accelerating access to technologies like cloud, AI, and the next wave of startups,” said Wole Abu, Managing Director for West Africa at Equinix.
Driving Connectivity Through Advanced Infrastructure
The LG3 data centre will integrate Equinix Fabric®, a global interconnection service that enables businesses to seamlessly link their physical and virtual infrastructures to a network of over 270 Equinix data centres worldwide. This will allow Nigerian and West African businesses to access Regulatory technology solutions, cloud computing platforms, and compliance software with greater resilience and speed.
The Lagos facility forms part of Equinix’s broader digital infrastructure expansion plan, first unveiled in April 2025, which includes a new data centre in Port Harcourt (PR1). The PR1 site is set to become the first landing station for Meta’s 2Africa subsea cable outside Lagos, aimed at decentralising Nigeria’s internet capacity and enhancing regulatory compliance frameworks in digital operations.
Strengthening Africa’s Digital Backbone
Equinix entered the West African market in 2022 through its $320 million acquisition of MainOne, a leading provider of telecom and connectivity solutions in Africa. The acquisition gave Equinix access to operational data centres in Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, a 7,000-km subsea cable system linking Nigeria to Portugal, and over 1,200 km of terrestrial fibre across southern Nigeria — all integral to regulatory reporting and data privacy management in digital infrastructure.
Industry-Wide Momentum
The move comes amid growing competition among major players investing in Nigeria’s digital economy. MTN Nigeriahas committed $240 million to a 9MW Tier 3 data centre, while Airtel Nigeria is investing $120 million in a 38MW facility to support AI-driven services. Similarly, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), part of WIOCC Group, plans to expand its Lagos data centre to 24MW by 2027, highlighting the risk assessment and compliance automationopportunities shaping the sector.
With a network of over 220 hyperscaler on-ramps across 45 metros and 4,000 global customers, Equinix is now poised to extend its RegTech innovations and compliance management systems to West Africa.
“With the opening of our newest data centre in Lagos, Equinix is proud to invest in this dynamic region, supporting our customers’ growth with world-class facilities that power everything from banking and education to emergency services and commerce,” said Aslıhan Güreşcier, Vice President, EMEA Growth & Emerging Markets at Equinix.
The launch of LG3 reinforces Equinix’s commitment to enhancing governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) standards while advancing Africa’s position in the global digital economy through sustainable infrastructure, regulatory technology trends, and RegTech solutions that foster trust, innovation, and inclusion.
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