FG Unveils Digital Cloud Policy, Targets $750m Private Investment

The federal government has unveiled the National Digital Cloud Policy, targeting $750 million in private investment in Nigeria’s cloud and data infrastructure within the next 24 months.

The policy, introduced by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, is aimed at transforming Nigeria into a regional hub for cloud computing, data hosting and digital services while strengthening the country’s digital sovereignty.

Under the policy, the government is targeting an initial $250 million in private investment within the first 12 months, rising to $750 million by the end of the second year.

The framework also seeks to increase domestic cloud capacity, create jobs, boost digital service exports and modernise government operations through greater adoption of cloud infrastructure.

Unveiling the policy, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, in a post shared on his X formerly Twitter handle, said Nigeria must move beyond being mainly a consumer of foreign cloud infrastructure.

“Nigeria must move from being primarily a consumer of global cloud infrastructure to becoming a competitive location for the infrastructure, investment, skills and digital services that will define the next phase of the global digital economy,” Tijani said.

He added that the government’s approach would remain open to both domestic and international cloud providers.

“Our approach is deliberately open and investment-oriented. We want Nigerian and international providers to invest, build capacity, develop talent and serve both the Nigerian market and the wider African continent from Nigeria,” the minister said.

The policy establishes four major priorities: investment and market development, regional digital services exports, government cloud transformation, and digital sovereignty and security.

A key component is a strengthened “Cloud First” approach across federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with government aggregating cloud demand and using shared infrastructure to reduce duplicated spending and secure better commercial terms.

The government will also establish a National Digital Marketplace for coordinated procurement of cloud and digital infrastructure services, alongside dedicated cloud budget arrangements and an anchor-capacity mechanism designed to provide predictable demand for private investors.

On data sovereignty, the policy does not impose blanket localisation requirements on commercial data. Instead, sovereignty requirements will apply to defined categories of government and regulated data considered sensitive to national interests.

The government also plans fiscal, regulatory and investment facilitation measures for qualifying cloud and data infrastructure projects, including measures addressing energy constraints, capital mobility and technology transfer.

Nigeria is further seeking to position itself as a regional digital services exporter by supporting cross-border data flows, international standards alignment and regional interconnection, allowing infrastructure located in Nigeria to serve customers across ECOWAS and the wider African market.

Implementation will take place through a phased 24-month roadmap. The first six months will focus on policy activation, baseline assessments and institutional arrangements, while the next six months will involve the launch of the National Digital Marketplace, priority government migrations and onboarding of registered providers.

The final 12 months will focus on scaling government cloud migration, expanding infrastructure capacity, onboarding participating states and accelerating regional digital service exports.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will provide regulatory oversight, standards and assurance, while Galaxy Backbone (GBB) will lead operational delivery, shared infrastructure and demand aggregation. The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will oversee compliance with public procurement requirements.

The policy is also expected to complement ongoing digital infrastructure and skills initiatives, including Project BRIDGE and the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.

The government said the policy is intended to create an ecosystem where connectivity, cloud infrastructure, digital skills, investment and government demand reinforce one another to accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation.