Digital infrastructure giant Equinix, Inc. has announced a significant investment in Nigeria, with plans to open a new, high-performance data centre in Lagos. The facility, named LG3, represents an initial investment of $22 million and marks the first phase of an ambitious $100 million plan aimed at accelerating Africa’s digital transformation over the next two years. Set to open its doors in the first quarter of 2026, the new site will provide essential infrastructure designed to help local companies expand their scale while simultaneously attracting more international businesses to Nigeria, which is strategically positioned as a hub for global connectivity on the continent.
The new data centre will be the first newly constructed site by Equinix in West Africa, following its entry into the market in 2022. It will integrate the company’s powerful Equinix Fabric platform, allowing businesses to securely link their physical and virtual systems to various cloud service providers, partners, and other Equinix locations across the world. This capacity is particularly vital for a nation with a young, tech-savvy population and an economy that is the second largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Lagos itself is recognised globally as a major hub for startup ecosystems.
Executives at Equinix are confident this move addresses a critical need for advanced digital capacity. Wole Abu, the Managing Director for West Africa at Equinix, spoke on the strategic importance of the development, stating, “LG3 marks a significant milestone in Equinix’s long-term commitment to bridging Africa’s digital divide. As Lagos emerges at the crossroads of talent, innovation, and global connectivity, this facility is accelerating access to technologies like cloud, AI, and the next wave of startups. We’re not just building data centres, we’re fostering growth, empowering innovation, and laying the groundwork for an interconnected African economy ready to lead on the global stage.”
The benefit for customers operating within Nigeria is equally pronounced. Olawale Owoeye, Managing Director at Cedarview, commented on the development, noting, “Equinix’s Lagos data centre will provide us with the robust and resilient platform our customers demand to expand our digital footprint. The unparalleled reliability and access to a global ecosystem empower us to deliver high-performance solutions to our customers and the new LG3 data centre in Lagos is a key step in ensuring we remain at the forefront of businesses connecting Africa.” This sentiment was echoed by Aslıhan Güreşcier, Vice President, EMEA Growth and Emerging Markets at Equinix, who added that Africa’s digital transformation is “accelerating, driven by a young population, rising internet access, and increasing demand for secure data infrastructure.” She confirmed that Equinix is investing in the dynamic region to support customer growth with world-class facilities that power essential services from commerce to emergency services.
Beyond the immediate technological benefits, this infrastructure project is expected to have a powerful impact on the Nigerian economy. The nation’s digital sector is already a significant contributor to economic output, having accounted for 14.4 per cent of Nigeria’s Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2025. Experts anticipate that the total economic impact generated by data centre expansion in Lagos could soar to as much as $7 billion, based on projections of a tenfold return on investment from this type of critical infrastructure. By providing secure, reliable local data hosting, facilities like LG3 enhance ‘digital sovereignty’ and support the government’s stated aim of increasing the digital economy’s contribution to GDP to 21 per cent by 2030, reinforcing Nigeria’s position as a digital powerhouse on the continent and fostering new waves of job creation in technology and related fields.
