South African data center operator Digital Parks Africa is expanding into West Africa with the development of a new carrier-neutral facility in Lagos, Nigeria, a move that underscores growing momentum to build out digital infrastructure across the continent.
The company announced plans for Nigeria Data Centre 1 (NDC1), its first facility in the country. Full details, including the specific location and facility specifications, have not yet been disclosed.
Menno Parsons, founder and CEO of Digital Parks Africa, framed the investment as part of a broader, long-term commitment to the region. "Our investment in Nigeria is much more than a new facility. It is the next step in our longstanding commitment to the region, and for our broader vision for Africa's digital future," he said. "Over the last two decades operating in Nigeria, we have a clear understanding of the market and of the need for infrastructure that can keep pace with businesses and the growing digital ecosystem. Through NDC1, we are building on that foundation and strengthening our ability to enable an increasingly connected African economy."
Founded in 2017, Digital Parks Africa currently operates a data center outside Pretoria, in Centurion, South Africa. The company has recently secured a series of high-profile hardware hosting deals, signaling rising demand for GPU-intensive computing on the continent. Last month, South African neocloud Stratos Lab and data center infrastructure provider Ecoblox named Digital Parks Africa as a partner to host more than 50 Nvidia B300 GPU servers. This month, the operator also began hosting a new Bull M8R2 cluster for South African systems integrator Data Sciences Corporation, which is reportedly the first Bull system deployed on African soil.
The expansion into Nigeria comes as international operators and technology firms increasingly look to Africa's rapidly growing digital economy, though infrastructure challenges remain. In Kenya, a planned Microsoft and G42 data center has stalled due to a lack of power capacity, highlighting the energy constraints that can hinder development. Digital Parks Africa's entry into Lagos signals confidence that demand from enterprises and cloud providers will continue to outpace supply, and positions the company to compete for a share of West Africa's emerging data center market.