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Microsoft Opens First Datacentres in Africa with General Availability of Azure

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Microsoft on Wednesday announced the opening of its first datacentres in Africa, with the general availability of Azure from the new cloud regions in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.

This makes Microsoft the first global provider to deliver cloud services from datacentres on the continent, which will help companies securely and reliably move their businesses to the cloud while meeting compliance needs.

“Microsoft Azure is now available from our new cloud regions in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will create greater economic opportunity for organisations in Africa, accelerate new global investment, and improve access to cloud and internet services,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate vice president, Azure Networking, Microsoft.

Ibrahim Youssry, General Manager, North, West, East, Central Africa, Levant & Pakistan, Microsoft said, “Today is a milestone moment in bringing the global cloud closer to home for African citizens and businesses.

“Enterprises across Africa can now take full advantage of the many benefits of Microsoft Azure, using cloud services to maintain security and meet compliance standards.”

According to the Cloud Africa 2018 report, the use of cloud among medium to large organizations in Africa has more than doubled between 2013 and 2018.

Due to the benefits of cloud in offering efficiency and scalability, more than 90 percent of surveyed companies in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have plans to increase their spending on cloud computing in the next year.

However, a secure offering remains important in maintaining this momentum, with many African CEOs being concerned about cyber threats.

“Microsoft has deep expertise in protecting data and empowering customers around the globe to meet extensive security and privacy requirements, including offering the broadest set of compliance certifications and attestations in the industry,” adds Khalidi. “We look forward to supporting more African enterprises in their cloud journeys and offering a trusted path to digital transformation.”

An investment in Africa

With a network of over 10,000 local partners – and a nearly 30-year history of operating on the continent – the new datacentres form part of Microsoft’s ongoing investment to enable digital transformation across Africa.

In 2013, Microsoft launched its continent-wide 4Afrika Initiative, where it has been working with governments, partners, start-ups and youth to develop more affordable access to the internet, 21st century skills, and locally relevant technology.

Most recently, this included a partnership with FirstBank Nigeria to expand cloud services and digital educational platforms to SME customers.

In Kenya, Microsoft is expanding FarmBeats, an end-to-end approach to help farmers benefit from technology. FarmBeats strives to enable data-driven farming, bringing together traditional knowledge, intuition and data to help increase farm productivity and yields.

On the skills development front, Microsoft has established a network of more than 800 Microsoft Imagine Academies across Africa, offering students of various age groups direct training in the technology field.

In partnership with the African Development Bank, Microsoft is also rolling out `Coding for Employment` to create more than 25 million jobs and reach 50 million youth and women across Africa.

“We’re working with partners to accelerate cloud readiness and adoption in Africa, ensuring enterprises can deliver services to market faster, businesses can make more data-driven decisions, and governments can better connect with citizens,” adds Youssry.

“As we connect more businesses to Azure, we’re seeing heightened innovation in the cloud and start-ups expanding their services to new markets.

“The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will now connect businesses with even more opportunity and customers across the globe.”

Azure is the first of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services to be delivered from the new datacentres in South Africa. Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity solution, is anticipated to be available by the third quarter of calendar year 2019, while Dynamics 365, the next generation of intelligent business applications, is anticipated in the fourth quarter.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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Equinix Expands Digital Footprint in Nigeria with Launch of LG2.3 Data Center

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Equinix, Inc. the world’s digital infrastructure company™, has officially opened its latest data center expansion in Lagos. Called LG2.3, the facility will support Nigeria’s growing digital transformation efforts, providing state-of-the-art colocation and secure interconnection solutions which will empower businesses across the region.

It also signifies Equinix’s unwavering dedication to advancing Nigeria’s position in the global digital economy, reinforcing the company’s commitment to the region.

As part of the inauguration, Bruce Owen, President of EMEA at Equinix, along with other Equinix executives, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly expanded site. In addition to an official visit to the Governor of Lagos State, Equinix hosted an exclusive customer engagement event, bringing together key customers and partners from Nigeria’s business and technology sectors.

Attendees discussed shared successes and Equinix’s role in facilitating digital transformation, while also connecting directly with Bruce Owen for insights into how Equinix’s solutions drive innovation and business agility in the region.

Equinix executives also took part in a tree-planting ceremony, symbolising Equinix’s continued investment in sustainable initiatives across the globe and highlighting the company’s broader goal of reducing its carbon footprint while supporting greener practices across its operations worldwide.

Speaking about the expansion, Bruce Owen, President of EMEA at Equinix said “Nigeria is a crucial market for Equinix. Today’s opening is a clear demonstration of our continued commitments to invest and grow digital infrastructure that will benefit the many thousands of businesses in Nigeria and on the continent as a whole.

“I am deeply encouraged by the enthusiastic partnerships and innovations emerging from this dynamic region, which continue to inspire our commitment to Nigeria’s digital and sustainable future.”

Adding to this, Wole Abu, Managing Director of Equinix West Africa, highlighted the critical role of data centers in driving economic growth stating “Data centers continue to play a pivotal role in driving economic development in Nigeria, serving as critical infrastructure that supports digital transformation and economic growth.

“As governments and enterprises increasingly acknowledge their significance, global demand for data center capacity is poised to rise. While Africa’s demand for data solutions is still evolving compared to more mature markets, the continent is demonstrating strong potential for digital adoption and innovation.

“To meet this growing need, Equinix is actively advancing three major data center projects in Nigeria, with future expansion plans for Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and South Africa.”

Equinix remains steadfast in its mission to enable secure, scalable, and sustainable digital growth for economies across the world.


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African Women Hit Hardest as Mobile Internet Gender Gap Persists

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African women remain among the most digitally excluded globally, with smartphone affordability and digital literacy among the key barriers. New data from the 2025 GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report, launched recently, reveals a persistent global gender gap in mobile internet use across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

It further notes that literacy, digital skills, safety, and affordability of data also remain critical barriers. The report highlights that 885 million women across these regions still do not use mobile internet, with nearly 60% of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

While mobile internet is the primary way women in LMICs access the internet, offering critical lifelines to health, education, and financial services, the pace of female adoption has stalled, leaving 235 million fewer women than men connected.

Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at GSMA, highlighted that the gender gap had narrowed significantly between 2017 and 2020, but progress flatlined in recent years.

Although 2023 brought a slight improvement, restoring the gap to 15%, 2024 saw minimal change, with the gap settling at 14%.

The disparity is most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 29% less likely than men to use mobile internet.

“It’s disheartening that progress in reducing the mobile internet gender gap has stalled. The digital divide is driven by deep-rooted socio-economic and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.

GSMA projects that closing the gender gap by 2030 could add $1.3 trillion to GDP across LMICs and deliver $230 billion in revenue to the mobile industry.

The report, funded by the UK FCDO, Sida, and the Gates Foundation, stresses the urgent need for targeted investment and policy action to bridge the digital divide and ensure that no woman is left offline.

“The mobile internet gender gap is not going to close on its own. It is driven by deep-rooted social, economic, and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.

 


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₦800 Billion Infrastructure Plan Set to Boost MTN’s Network Quality Nationwide

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In a recent interview, MTN Nigeria reaffirmed that its ongoing infrastructure investment is a strategic step to improve network quality, speed, and nationwide coverage.

Speaking on Beyond the Headlines with Nifemi Oguntoye, Ugonwa Nwoye, Chief Customer and Experience Officer at MTN Nigeria, explained that although public concern is valid, the company undertook several internal cost-efficiency measures before making structural adjustments.

She emphasised that improved investment is critical to fast-tracking improvements across MTN’s network.

Nwoye explained that MTN undertook extensive internal reforms before embarking on structural changes needed to support this scale of investment.

The company completed its phased roll-out of the increase between February and March, ensuring that every existing data plan was below the 50% increase, and most remained below 25%.

She also noted that customers were proactively informed about all changes, particularly when certain legacy plans were retired and replaced with new ones. “We gave customers six to eight weeks’ notice,” she explained.

“This is why it has taken us some time to complete this process, where we let customers know that at a certain date, this particular tariff is not going to exist.”

Nwoye stressed that MTN had exhausted other internal measures before turning to broader structural updates. Now, with the new pricing structure in place, the company is accelerating its investment in infrastructure, spending over ₦200 billion in the first quarter of 2025 alone, a 159% increase from the same period last year. A total capital expenditure of ₦800 billion is planned for the year.

She noted that this investment is a direct outcome of long-term operational restructuring aimed at improving service quality.

She added, “We are investing over ₦800 billion this year alone in our infrastructure. This will translate into better customer experience, reduced congestion, faster internet speeds, and wider network reach.”

This investment will support the upgrade of over 1,000 cell sites and the expansion of more than 2,000 transmission links nationwide.

Nwoye stressed that these upgrades are designed to deliver faster data speeds, fewer dropped calls, and broader network reach, especially in underserved areas.

She acknowledged the public’s expectations for immediate service improvements but emphasised that large-scale infrastructure takes time to deploy.

Nonetheless, MTN expects customers to begin experiencing visible improvements in network performance by the second half of the year.

In a sector where service quality and customer satisfaction are closely watched, MTN maintains that its ongoing investments are not merely capital commitments but vital enablers of improved digital experiences across Nigeria.


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