The Federal Government has unveiled a National Digital Cloud Policy aimed at attracting $750 million in private investment into Nigeria’s cloud and data infrastructure over the next 24 months.
The policy was unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy on Monday as part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s local cloud capacity, create jobs, strengthen indigenous digital expertise and position the country as a regional hub for digital services and data hosting.
Under the 24-month plan, the government is targeting $250 million in private investment within the first year, with the figure expected to rise to $750 million by the end of the second year.
Policy Targets Investment and Digital Growth
The framework focuses on investment and market development, regional digital service exports, government cloud transformation, as well as digital sovereignty and security.
However, the government said it would maintain an open and competitive cloud market involving multiple providers.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said Nigeria needed to transition from primarily consuming global cloud infrastructure to becoming a competitive destination for digital infrastructure, investment, skills and services.
According to Tijani, the policy is designed to encourage both Nigerian and international companies to invest in infrastructure, develop local talent and provide services to Nigeria and the wider African market.
Government Cloud Transformation
The minister said the government would aggregate cloud demand from registered providers and establish shared government cloud services.
The move is expected to reduce duplicated government spending, secure better commercial terms and create more predictable demand for private investors.
The government also plans to establish a National Digital Marketplace for coordinated procurement of cloud and digital infrastructure services, alongside dedicated cloud budget arrangements and an anchor-capacity mechanism.
The policy does not impose general data localisation requirements on commercial data. Instead, sovereignty requirements will apply to specific categories of government and regulated data where national control is considered necessary.
NITDA, GBB and BPP Assigned Roles
Under the implementation framework, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will provide regulatory oversight, standards and assurance.
Galaxy Backbone (GBB) will lead operational delivery, shared infrastructure and demand aggregation, while the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will ensure compliance with public procurement requirements.
The first six months of the roadmap will focus on policy activation, baseline assessments and institutional arrangements.
Between months six and 12, the government plans to operationalise the National Digital Marketplace, begin priority migration of Ministries, Departments and Agencies and onboard registered cloud providers.
The final 12 months will focus on scaling migration, expanding infrastructure capacity, onboarding participating states and accelerating digital service exports.
Nigeria Targets Regional Cloud Market
The government also wants Nigeria-hosted cloud and data services to serve customers across ECOWAS and the wider African market.
The policy is expected to support regional data services through cross-border data flows, regional interconnection and alignment with international standards.
The initiative complements Project BRIDGE, which targets the deployment of at least 90,000 kilometres of additional fibre-optic infrastructure.
It also supports the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Programme, which is developing skills in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software engineering.
The Federal Government said the broader objective is to strengthen Nigeria’s digital infrastructure, attract private capital and position the country to play a larger role in Africa’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Source: Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
