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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called on global technology companies and local infrastructure developers to invest in Nigeria’s information technology infrastructure, highlighting the country’s growing demand for cloud computing and digital services as a major investment opportunity.
NITDA Director General, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, said Nigeria must move beyond its position as a consumer of offshore digital services and develop into a major cloud computing hub for West Africa, with the digital infrastructure opportunity estimated at more than $1bn.
Speaking at a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on “Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Opportunity” during ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026, Inuwa outlined the government’s strategy to create greater regulatory certainty, generate structured demand and establish a sovereign cloud ecosystem capable of supporting more than 230 million Nigerians and the wider region.
Nigeria seeks to close digital infrastructure gap
Inuwa said Nigeria’s large domestic demand for computing and digital services presents a significant economic opportunity, but much of the value generated from that demand is currently routed through foreign servers.
According to a statement signed by Hadiza Umar, Director of Corporate Communications at NITDA, local data capacity is operating at nearly 90 per cent utilisation, increasing the country’s dependence on offshore digital infrastructure.
“To bridge this divide, the federal government is using its immense purchasing power as a catalyst,” Inuwa said.
The government is seeking to use its own technology spending to create predictable demand for local infrastructure while encouraging private investment in cloud computing and shared digital architecture.
Cloud-First Policy to consolidate government technology spending
Under the newly institutionalised “Cloud-First Policy,” Nigeria is consolidating fragmented public-sector IT spending to position government as an anchor customer for infrastructure developers.
Inuwa disclosed that 326 federal ministries, departments and agencies spent N3.89tn, equivalent to roughly $2.9bn, on technology investments between 2023 and mid-2026.
Government demand alone generates nearly $1bn annually, he said, adding that the authorities intend to direct this spending towards cloud infrastructure and shared architecture rather than separate public data centres.
The approach is expected to create a more structured market for private-sector infrastructure providers while improving the efficiency of government technology investments.
NITDA targets regulatory certainty for investors
Inuwa said NITDA was also working to address regulatory fragmentation, which can increase the complexity of operating across Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
“To ensure investor confidence, NITDA is replacing fragmented, unpredictable oversight with a unified regulatory approach,” he said.
The agency is establishing a single-interface portal intended to streamline compliance requirements across multiple government bodies.
Inuwa said the framework would also promote greater alignment among sector regulators through horizontal standards, allowing institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria to adopt shared baseline requirements.
According to him, this could make it easier for financial institutions to migrate core data to local cloud infrastructure without having to navigate duplicative regulatory approval processes.
The framework is intended to support market development rather than revenue extraction, with emphasis on competition, international interoperability and a more predictable operating environment for investors.
Rising connectivity strengthens cloud opportunity
Inuwa said Nigeria’s digital infrastructure opportunity is supported by increasing broadband and internet adoption.
Broadband penetration has risen by nearly 10 percentage points to more than 56 per cent, while the country has about 192 million mobile subscribers and 157 million internet users.
He cited estimates suggesting that every dollar invested in Nigerian digital infrastructure generates eight dollars in broader economic returns.
The domestic cloud market is also projected to grow from $376m in 2026 to more than $783m by 2031, according to current forecasts.
Inuwa said greater policy clarity and coordinated government action could accelerate the development of the market beyond current projections.
Nigeria targets regional digital infrastructure hub
The government’s ambitions extend beyond serving domestic demand, with Nigeria seeking to position itself as a digital infrastructure hub for Central and West Africa.
Inuwa said the country’s geographical position could allow it to serve as a natural transit hub for landlocked neighbouring countries, creating opportunities for cross-border digital infrastructure and cloud services.
Under the National Digital Cloud Policy, the government is targeting $750m in total digital infrastructure investments within two years.
The strategy places cloud computing, regulatory certainty and public-sector demand at the centre of Nigeria’s effort to attract global technology investment and develop domestic digital infrastructure.
For investors, the combination of a large and increasingly connected population, substantial government technology spending and growing demand for cloud services presents an expanding market, while the government’s regulatory and infrastructure policies will be critical to converting that potential into sustained private-sector investment.
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