Nigeria’s $250M AI-Ready Data Center to Begin Operations in Lagos Later This Year

News World

Published by Clare Adamson at February 15, 2026

The Potential of Kasi Cloud

Nigeria is home to 22 data centres across Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu, and Rivers State. Of these, 18 are colocation facilities—where multiple companies host their servers—while four are primarily limited to disaster recovery and telecommunications services. But Kasi Cloud is positioning itself differently. The facility “was designed for AI from day one,” said Johnson Agogbua, founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud. Many data centres in Nigeria are built around racks that support five to 10 kW, but the Kasi Cloud campus has been designed to handle 10 to 100 kW per rack—the kind of density required for modern AI workloads powered by GPUs.

The Centre will support digital ecosystems and expand internet access to over 200 million people.

“The data centre and interconnection facility will provide access to a world-class digital ecosystem, accelerating scalability and connectivity across the region, and the world, starting with local communities,” Agogbua said. In addition, the new data centre is expected to create hundreds of jobs for locals, including positions for engineers, IT technicians, and security personnel.

Bigger data centres will result in faster internet services, improved fintech and ecommerce technologies. It opens the door for developers to build more cloud-native products without leaving the country, strengthening innovation and retaining local talent.

Data Sovereignty for Nigeria

Currently, many Nigerian enterprises host their workloads in foreign data centres, outsourcing to South African cloud services like AWS Cape Town and Azure Johannesburg. However, this comes with increased operational costs and bandwidth fees.

With the implementation of the Data Protection Act of 2023, the Nigerian government mandated a strict data localisation policy for the protection of national security. Kasi Cloud contributes to a growing number of local data centres in Nigeria, which will result in improved data sovereignty for Nigerians.

Infrastructure Weaknesses in Lagos

Lagos is home to 77% of Nigeria’s data centres, yet infrastructure challenges pose a threat to their operations. Sitting along the Atlantic Coast, Lagos is one of the most connected African cities, with several major submarine cables landing on its shores. However, this connectivity is prone to structural damage.

In 2024, an underwater landslide off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire severed the connection of major cables, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) and MainOne Cable. This unforeseen geological movement significantly disrupted the internet connectivity across West Africa.

Beyond physical cable damage, the challenge is also structural. Once the international bandwidth lands in Lagos, it must travel inwards through terrestrial fibre networks, powered by stable electricity systems. If inland networks are poorly maintained, congested, liable to flooring risks, or dependent on a fragile grid, Kasi Cloud’s performance becomes tied to broader urban infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Sustainability Challenges

Data centres around the world consume upwards of 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, which is comparable to the energy consumption of entire nations like France. A 100Mw data centre campus would require 876,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year if running at full capacity, which is roughly the annual energy consumption of 150,000 to 200,000 average households.

Nigeria’s grid capacity often fluctuates between 4,000 and 5,000 MW for over 200 million people. In this context, the introduction of a hyperscale facility adds pressure to an already strained system.

An unreliable national grid could force Kasi Cloud to supplement its electricity demand through diesel generators or embedded power systems, increasing both operating costs and emissions. While the company describes the campus as “green by design,” detailed public disclosures on renewable integration, water-efficient cooling, or carbon-mitigation strategies have yet to be provided. For a project of this scale, long-term sustainability will not simply be a branding choice but an operational necessity.

Water and Cooling Demands

In addition to electricity needs, hyperscale data centres require significant water resources for cooling systems that prevent servers from overheating.

Lagos reportedly requires over 700 million gallons of water daily, but produces less than 200 million gallons. This leaves millions of residents dependent on boreholes, water vendors, and informal supply systems. Moreover, in 202,4 Lagos was also at the centre of a cholera outbreak that exposed challenges in water access and sanitation infrastructure.

With this considered, questions about resource allocation are inevitable. As Lagos builds infrastructure to power the cloud, it must also ensure that essential utilities like clean water remain accessible and prioritised for the city’s residents. The sustainability of projects like Kasi Cloud depends on how responsibly they integrate into the city’s urban ecosystem.

Market Outlook

Despite these infrastructure challenges, the broader trajectory of Africa’s digital economy remains undeniable. Africa’s data centre market was valued at approximately $2.2 billion in 2026 and is expected to reach $4 billion by 2030. Nigeria, alongside South Africa and Kenya, sits at the forefront of this expansion.

For Lagos, digital expansion is dependent on parallel investments in electricity and water supply. If infrastructure development keeps pace with digital ambition, projects like Kasi Cloud could mark not just a technological milestone, but a structural turning point in West Africa’s digital economy.