Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Set for Take-off as Data Centre Capacity to Quadruple by 2030

A recent report by Estate Intel forecasts that Nigeria’s installed data centre capacity will surge from 56.1 MW in 2025 to more than 218 MW by 2030, representing nearly a four-fold increase in just five years.

This projected expansion comes amid a sustained average annual growth rate of 21 % in the data centre sector since 2020, driven by intensifying demand from fintech firms, cloud-service providers, and the growing digital economy.

Why This Matters

For the startup and investment ecosystem, this rapid build-out signals clear opportunity. More data centres mean improved data sovereignty, lower latency for cloud applications, and greater capacity to support innovations in artificial intelligence, financial services and digital infrastructure.

Key Drivers

Fintech growth and the continuous rise of digital services are fueling capacity demand.

Investors and operators are responding to the convergence of data-intensive applications, regulatory pressure for local infrastructure, and expanding regional connectivity.

The upcoming capacity ramp helps position Nigeria competitively with regional tech hubs in East and Central Africa.

Considerations for Investors and Startups

While the outlook is largely positive, the scale of growth presents execution risks: financing, energy reliability, and the logistics of construction in Nigeria’s infrastructure-landscape will be critical. Deployment timelines, power supply stability and regulatory clarity will all determine which players succeed.

Outlook

As the country gears up for a major infrastructure pivot, entrepreneurs building solutions requiring local hosting, edge compute and high-availability services should monitor this sector closely. For investment funds looking to back platforms that reside on or around data-centre ecosystems, the timing appears auspicious.

In sum, Nigeria’s data-centre market is entering a phase of structural growth. The four-fold capacity leap by 2030 offers a strong signal to the startup community and investors: the infrastructure base is being built for the next wave of tech innovation.