The launch event was attended by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, executive governor of Lagos State; Dr Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor, Lagos State; Adeolu Akande, chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission on behalf of Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Hakeem Fahm, Commissioner of Science and Technology for Lagos State; as well as other government officials and Equinix executives.
"We can see that Equinix is now poised not only to be the biggest digital infrastructure player in Nigeria but in Africa, and we welcome Equinix to the heartbeat of the country, the centre of excellence, the largest economy in Africa and the technology transformation hub of Africa,” said Sanwo-Olu.
The Lekki II facility provides immediate room for growth on MainOne’s Lekki data centre campus which is targeted for further expansion of up to 10MW of data centre capacity.
In addition, combined with MainOne’s existing assets the new Lekki II data centre provides open access connectivity to all the telecom networks in Nigeria that have an established presence on the Lekki campus. This will give customers access to a ecosystem of telecom operators, global networks, financial services companies, and content providers across West Africa.
“We are delighted to be expanding our Lekki Campus today to increase capacity in our region. Indeed, having a parent company that is the world’s digital company choose to enter Africa through the acquisition of MainOne is a bold statement," said Funke Opeke, CEO of MainOne.
Our plans include further expansion to the Lekki Campus to accommodate the requirements of global hyperscalers and regional businesses as we expand to connect the over 10,000 companies already on the Equinix platform. These businesses will now have access to our region and local businesses will come onboard to interconnect with them.”.
The news follows the recently completed US$320 million acquisition of MainOne by Equinix.
Announced in December 2021, the completion of this acquisition comes in line with Equinix’s long-term goal to become a African digital infrastructure company by being able to deliver a range of technologies and connectivity to Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
The addition of MainOne to the Equinix portfolio will extend Platform Equinix into West Africa, giving organisations based inside and outside of Africa access to global and regional markets.
“By extending our global reach, we offer our 10,000 customers a significantly large new market to enter and interconnect with at many levels. Our expectations are high given what we have learned about the vision of the Lagos State Government and we are committed to making Lagos the Digital hub of Africa," said Judith Gardiner, vice president of growth and emerging markets at Equinix.
"We are committed to bringing our capital, expertise, knowledge and customers to accelerate the digital age in Nigeria.”
