{"id":8879,"date":"2026-09-23T15:01:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=8879"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:01:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T14:01:49","slug":"cbn-data-rules-could-position-nigeria-as-africas-data-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/?p=8879","title":{"rendered":"CBN Data Rules Could Position Nigeria as Africa\u2019s Data Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nigeria\u2019s push to keep financial data within its borders could do more than strengthen data sovereignty. According to Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres (OADC), the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s data localisation directive could help transform the country into a major data and computing hub for Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CBN\u2019s June 2026 directive requires financial institutions and licensed payment operators to store and manage payment transaction data generated in Nigeria on local infrastructure, with compliance expected by January 1, 2027. The policy has increased attention on Nigeria\u2019s data centre capacity, cloud infrastructure, connectivity and power supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For OADC, the impact is already becoming visible.<\/a> Coker said the company has seen a significant increase in discussions with fintechs and core banking platforms seeking additional colocation capacity and cloud services. He expects the wider market to respond by expanding data centre capacity and cloud functionality as financial institutions migrate workloads into Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity extends beyond compliance. Coker argues that localising financial data could create a broader infrastructure ecosystem involving data centres, cloud providers, telecommunications companies, energy providers and technology businesses. Increased investment in these areas could also generate employment and support related supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria\u2019s growing data centre market is preparing for that demand. OADC says its Lekki facility is being developed in stages, with four phases capable of delivering 24 megawatts of standard cloud capacity. The facility is also being designed with artificial intelligence workloads in mind, which could require substantially higher power densities. OADC is exploring gas-based generation of up to 50 megawatts to support future expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power remains one of the most important constraints for Nigeria\u2019s digital infrastructure ambitions. However, Coker argues that the country\u2019s large gas resources could provide an advantage as data centres globally increasingly seek reliable dedicated energy sources. OADC is also planning additional locations, including Abuja and Port Harcourt, as connectivity improves outside Lagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connectivity is another critical piece of the equation. OADC says it has access to multiple subsea cable systems and an interconnection ecosystem involving more than 45 carriers. This infrastructure is intended to provide redundancy and support the reliability requirements of banks and other digital businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift could also accelerate the adoption of locally hosted cloud services. Coker said some banks are already considering whether core banking systems can eventually operate on locally hosted cloud platforms rather than relying entirely on traditional infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, localisation will still require careful execution. Financial institutions must assess their existing architectures, determine migration requirements and establish resilient arrangements that include disaster recovery and potentially multiple providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Nigeria can combine local demand created by regulation with investment in reliable power, connectivity, cloud computing and high-capacity data centres, the CBN directive could become more than a compliance exercise. It could help create the infrastructure base needed for Nigeria to serve not only its own digital economy but also the growing demand for computing capacity across Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s push to keep financial data within its borders could do more than strengthen data sovereignty. According to Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres (OADC), the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s data localisation directive could help transform the country into a major data and computing hub for Africa. The CBN\u2019s June 2026 directive requires…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8879"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8881,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8879\/revisions\/8881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techstream.africa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}