Kasi Cloud Datacentres to strengthen national data sovereignty – Oyedele

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele has emphasised the need to strengthen national data sovereignty. He stated this at the launch of Kasi Cloud Datacentres, an hyperscale AI-ready data centre in Lagos. He described the project as sovereign infrastructure, adding that it marked a strategic choice for the country. […]

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele has emphasised the need to strengthen national data sovereignty.

He stated this at the launch of Kasi Cloud Datacentres, an hyperscale AI-ready data centre in Lagos.

He described the project as sovereign infrastructure, adding that it marked a strategic choice for the country.

“We cannot remain consumers of artificial intelligence, paying foreign exchange to access AI capability hosted abroad.

“We can become producers, hosts, and builders of the infrastructure powering the next-generation economy. Today, with Kasi Cloud, Nigeria has made that choice,” he said.

He added that the facility would enable local businesses, researchers, and institutions to access world-class AI computing capabilities domestically ning national data sovereignty.

“When the story of Nigerian digital transformation is written, history will remember today as the moment we stopped exporting raw potential and started building the infrastructure to process that potential at home,” the minister said.

The governor of Lagos state Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the project demonstrated what could happen when “ambition, technical excellence and institutional backing” come together.

“What we are commissioning today is proof that ambition coupled with technical excellence and institutional backing truly delivers,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had become the heartbeat of Africa’s digital economy, producing many of the continent’s most successful startups, but noted that much of that growth had depended on foreign infrastructure.

“For too long, African innovation has depended on infrastructure built elsewhere. Our startups are built here, but they are hosted abroad. Our businesses generate data here, but process it elsewhere.

“That model may have survived in the early internet era, but it will not sustain the AI economy we see today,” he said.

He also highlighted the project’s employment potential.

“Beyond technology, this project is also about jobs and skills,” he said.

The founder and chairman of Infrastructure Masons (iMasons),Dean Nelson, said the facility has placed Nigeria firmly on the global artificial intelligence infrastructure map.

He described the facility as a critical step in moving the country from a consumer to a producer in the global AI value chain.

Nelson said the launch of the new facility marked a turning point not only for Nigeria but for Africa’s digital future, as countries race to build infrastructure capable of powering the next wave of artificial intelligence innovation.

“This building behind us represents the future — a future in which Nigeria brings AI home,” he said.

Citing Infrastructure Masons’ latest State of the Data Center report, Nelson said global digital infrastructure capacity had surged from 105 gigawatts to 373 gigawatts in just three years, driven largely by the explosion of AI.

“As of the publication of this report last month, we have tripled global infrastructure in three years. This is unprecedented,” he said.

But he warned that Africa remains largely excluded from that growth.

“Africa has 1.4 billion people and the youngest population in the world, yet hosts less than five per cent of global data centre capacity, with 80 per cent of that in South Africa.

“Almost a trillion dollars worth of cloud infrastructure spending is actually spent offshore to serve Africa. Africa is funding the AI increase for other countries. That needs to change,” he said.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kasi Cloud, Johnson Agogbua, said the company’s ambition was to ensure Africa becomes an active participant in the AI revolution rather than a passive consumer.

“Kasi Cloud is proof that world-class infrastructure is not the exclusive property of Silicon Valley, Virginia, Singapore, or Frankfurt.

“The question is not whether AI will come to Africa. It is already here. The question is: who will write Africa’s story in the age of AI?,” he said.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the project validated a bold investment thesis made by the sovereign wealth fund four years ago.

“NSIA made a bet not on a building, but on the thesis that Nigeria could not readily pursue digital transformation while exporting its data.

“The data centre is not just another facility; it is a statement of ambition. It represents Nigeria’s first indigenous hyperscale data centre and signals that the country is ready to host next-generation cloud, artificial intelligence, and high-density computing infrastructure on its own soil,” he said.

He added that beyond technology, the project would reduce foreign exchange losses from offshore hosting, create high-value jobs, and strengthen Nigeria’s appeal to global technology companies.