Nigeria-based MainOne has continued to grow digital investments across Africa after the recent launch of its new data centre, “Lekki II”.
The launch comes on the heels of its acquisition by Equinix. The new data centre will drive the acceleration of digital services in Lagos State.
Speaking at the launch event, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Executive Governor of Lagos State, said MainOne on building digital infrastructure in line with his government’s strategy to make Lagos State a 21st Century Smart City. Sanwo-Olu added: “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.”
Funke Opeke, CEO, MainOne, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our Lekki Campus 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 hyper-scalers 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.”
Lekki II provides immediate room for growth on MainOne’s Lekki Data Centre campus which is targeted for further expansion up to 10MW of data Centre capacity under the Equinix umbrella.
Judith Gardiner, VP Growth and Emerging Markets, Equinix, said: “By extending our global reach, we offer our 10,000 customers a significantly large new market to enter and interconnect with at many levels. Our expectations are high given what we have learned about the vision of the Lagos State Government and we are committed to making Lagos the digital hub of Africa. To put this in context, Amsterdam as a key hub, with a population of one million people has 9 Equinix Data Centres with over 106MW capacity. Lagos, with a population of over 20 million, has the potential to far exceed this footprint. We are committed to bringing our capital, expertise, knowledge and customers to accelerate the digital age in Nigeria.”
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 established presence on the Lekki campus.
