Lagos continues to take the lead in growing digital investments across Africa with the recent launch of MainOne’s new data centre, Lekki II. Following closely on the heels of MainOne’s acquisition by Equinix, the new data centre aims to drive the acceleration of digital services in Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch event, the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, commended MainOne on building digital infrastructure in line with his Government’s strategy to make Lagos State a 21st-century smart city.
“Lagos is already on the map as the leading destination for technology companies on the African continent. Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country, and we will continue to create an enabling environment for businesses to flourish by ensuring our policies support investment and create opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. We can see that Equinix is now poised not only to be the biggest digital infrastructure player in Nigeria but in Africa, and we welcome Equinix to the heartbeat of the country, the Centre of Excellence, the largest economy in Africa and the technology transformation hub of Africa.”
In line with MainOne’s existing assets, the new Lekki II data centre offers open access connectivity to all the leading telecom networks in Nigeria with an established presence on the Lekki campus. Customers will enjoy access to an ecosystem of telecom operators, global networks, financial services companies, and content providers not just in Nigeria, but across West Africa.
The event included a tour of the Lekki II facility, which was commissioned for service by the Governor after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Lekki II provides immediate room for growth on MainOne’s Lekki data centre campus, which is targeted for further expansion of up to ten megawatts of data centre capacity under the Equinix umbrella.
The CEO of MainOne, Funke Opeke, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our Lekki Campus today to increase capacity in our region. Indeed, having a parent company that is the world’s digital company choose to enter Africa through the acquisition of MainOne is a bold statement.
“Equinix recognises that Lagos has the potential to become the digital infrastructure hub for Africa and we are delighted that through this acquisition Equinix will extend its network of 240 data centres in 66 markets to Lagos. Our plans include further expansion to the Lekki Campus to accommodate the requirements of global hyperscalers and regional businesses as we expand to connect the over 10,000 companies already on the Equinix platform. These businesses will now have access to our region, and local businesses will come onboard to interconnect with them.”
