Nigeria’s data centre market is poised for massive expansion, with total installed capacity projected to surge from 56.1 megawatts (MW) in 2025 to more than 218MW by 2030, according to a new report by Estate Intel. The forecast represents nearly a fourfold growth within five years, underlining the country’s emergence as one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital infrastructure hubs.
The report highlights that the data centre sector has maintained steady growth since the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing its resilience and critical role in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
“Between 2025 and 2030, Nigeria is expected to grow from 56.1MW in data centre capacity to over 218MW, representing growth of more than 3.7 times,” Estate Intel stated.
Rapid Digital Growth and Industry Momentum
Nigeria’s data centre industry has grown by an average of 21 per cent annually since 2020, driven by increased demand for cloud storage, fintech operations, and digital services. This sustained expansion is backed by major investments from global players such as Equinix, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), and Digital Realty.
While other real estate segments have slowed, data centres in Nigeria continue to attract strong investor interest, positioning the country as a leading digital hub in West Africa.
Rising Capacity and New Investments
Between 2020 and 2024, Nigeria completed 14 data centres, each with a median capacity of 1.5MW. Over the next five years, new projects are expected to have a median capacity of 4.5MW, reflecting larger and more efficient builds to meet growing digital demand.
Key ongoing projects include:
- Equinix’s 20MW data centre at Alaro City, Lagos
- Airtel’s 35MW Nxtra Data Centre at Eko Atlantic
- OADC’s 24MW facility along the Lekki Corridor
Leading Developers and Contractors
The country’s data infrastructure boom is being powered by top local and international construction firms:
- ITB Nigeria Ltd, builder of Rack Centre LG2 (Ikeja), Airtel Nxtra (Eko Atlantic), and African Data Centres LOS1 (Eko Atlantic)
- Vita Construction Ltd, developer of MainOne MDX-i (Lekki) and LGO3 (Victoria Island) – now owned by Equinix after its 2022 acquisition of MainOne
- Cappa and D’Alberto, which built GTBank’s DC01 Data Centre (Ikate-Elegushi), the first Tier III-certified facility in Africa’s financial services sector
- Interkel Group, which delivered MTN Nigeria’s data centre in 2020 under its Network-as-a-Service initiative
- Sageto Limited, developer of the National Information Technology Centre (DC1) in Abuja for Galaxy Backbone, serving Nigeria’s government data storage needs
Nigeria as a Digital Infrastructure Leader
Industry experts say the expansion of data centres in Nigeria will drive the next phase of digital economy growth, supporting cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, and financial technology services.
With ongoing projects, strong investor participation, and government support for digital transformation, Nigeria is on track to become Africa’s premier data hub by 2030.
