MTN Nigeria, in collaboration with Dell Technologies, has launched Dabengwa Data Centre to revolutionise enterprise IT infrastructure across West Africa with its cloud services offering.
According to MTN, Dabengwa stands as West Africa’s largest prefabricated modular data centre in Nigeria, with 96 prefabricated containers used for Phase 1. Designed with the future in mind, the data centre incorporates AI-driven energy optimisation and robust hybrid cloud capabilities, ensuring unparalleled performance and flexibility for its clients, according to MTNN.
Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, said, “Today is not simply the commissioning of the state-of-the-art data centre and launch of a new cloud platform, it is a lot more.
“It is a representation of technological advancements that focuses on the development of a state-of-the-art commissioning and data-centric architecture in line with the direction and policy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He stated that the data centre, which costs about $150 million, is a leap in the data landscape to meet the increasing demand of Nigerian businesses for solutions that focus on growth and innovation.
While speaking about the data centre and MTN Cloud, which was also unveiled to help Nigerian businesses and boost the country’s digital eco-system, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, said that the innovation has launched Nigeria into a new tech era.
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“A few weeks from now, we’ll launch the MTN Cloud Accelerator for Africa. This isn’t just another accelerator, but one that would empower the Nigerian tech ecosystem for growth,” she said.
The MTN Cloud Accelerator Program is tailored to support startups in the ecosystem with the training and resources they need to thrive, and the MTN Cloud was built in Africa but can be accessed by local and global businesses.
By providing a world-class, locally hosted environment, the Dabengwa Data Centre enables international cloud services while meeting critical regulatory requirements.
Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, said, “The MTN Data centre is part of the digital foundation of Nigeria’s modern economy that we seek – one that provides, and will continue to provide world-class reliability, so that we can keep our money local. We don’t have to ship it out in dollars.
Babajide Sanwoolu, governor of Lagos State, who was represented by Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, secretary to the State’s Government, stated, “Investments like this one that we’re here to launch offer a platform for our young people to be able to thrive.”
Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), who was represented by Babagaba Digima, deputy director, New Media and Information Security Department, added, “The Commission remains committed to creating an environment that supports innovation while ensuring the highest standards of cybersecurity, data protection, and a robust internet infrastructure and service quality.”
