Search
IDCNOVA

INFRAGORA Plans Two AI-Ready Data Centres in Nigeria Backed by USTDA Grant

By: IDCNOVARegion: Africa
South African infrastructure investment firm INFRAGORA Global Capital is planning to build two AI-ready data centres in Nigeria, with construction targeted to begin by the second quarter of 2027. The project, estimated to cost between $650 million and $1 billion, marks one of the most significant proposed data centre investments in the country to date and represents the first phase of a broader pan-African digital infrastructure push.

The facilities form the initial stage of the AFRIDATA Datacenter Platform, INFRAGORA's plan to develop open-access data centres across the continent. The wider platform is reported to be worth between $3 billion and more than $5 billion, underscoring the scale of ambition behind the initiative as demand for cloud and AI computing capacity accelerates across Africa.

The main facility will be located in Lagos State, with a second site in Delta State. According to the US Trade and Development Agency, the Lagos site will be AI-ready and cloud-enabled with Tier IV certification — the highest level of data centre reliability — while the Delta facility will serve as a Tier III or Tier IV backup and disaster recovery centre with comparable computing capabilities. Together, the two facilities are designed to deliver 60 to 70 megawatts of capacity, with room to expand to 100 megawatts, and will accommodate 3,600 standard server racks alongside 480 high-density racks built for the GPU servers that AI workloads require.

The USTDA has awarded a $1.87 million grant to fund a feasibility study that will assess the project's bankability and market fit, identify US vendors capable of delivering the infrastructure, evaluate regulatory risks and map out the requirements for unlocking financing. The agency said it also sees opportunities for American companies supplying AI software, cloud infrastructure, networking hardware and cybersecurity services. INFRAGORA's Kiel Odiogo said USTDA's early backing helped reduce the project's risk and attract partners, adding that the company aims to leverage American technology and expertise to build secure infrastructure that can scale and create jobs.

The centres will be owned and operated by AFRIDATA Datacenter Nigeria Ltd, a special purpose vehicle incorporated in April 2026, with INFRAGORA as one of its majority owners alongside institutional and private equity investors and an experienced data centre operator serving as a strategic partner. The company plans to lease rack space to cloud providers, banks and mobile network operators for AI and cloud workloads. INFRAGORA, founded in 2023, has lined up similar vehicles for Angola, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.

The project carries particular significance for Nigeria, where data centre capacity is heavily concentrated in Lagos. USTDA estimates the country's data centre market is growing at 14.2 percent annually and could reach 226.7 megawatts by 2029, and a Delta State site would help distribute that infrastructure beyond the commercial capital. However, the project remains at an early stage: the construction date is a target that depends on the feasibility study confirming commercial viability and on the company securing financing, while power supply and regulatory approvals will also shape the timeline.