The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, is stepping up investment in digital infrastructure and technology as it seeks to position Nigeria as a builder and host of artificial intelligence capabilities rather than merely a consumer of technologies developed abroad. The Authority said reliable data storage, cloud computing, secure connectivity and high performance computing have become essential to economic growth and national competitiveness as demand for artificial intelligence continues to expand.
At the centre of the strategy is the KASI Hyperscale Data Centre, an indigenous digital infrastructure project designed to provide co location, cloud computing, data storage, virtualisation, AI workload processing and high performance GPU computing. NSIA said the facility is expected to help address the growing dependence of Nigerian businesses and institutions on offshore data hosting and computing services, while retaining more digital economic value within the country.
The Authority is also deploying capital through other technology focused initiatives, including the NSIA Prize for Innovation, the NSIA Japan International Cooperation Agency Impact Investment Fund and the Future Generations Fund’s exposure to venture capital and private equity managers investing in high growth technology companies. NSIA said the investments are intended to support technology enabled businesses, expand access to long term capital and strengthen sectors including broadband, cloud services, cybersecurity, telecommunications infrastructure and digital platforms.
According to NSIA, the broader objective is to build an ecosystem in which Nigerian businesses can access reliable computing infrastructure, innovators can obtain capital and artificial intelligence capabilities can increasingly be developed and deployed locally. The KASI campus is expected to reach about 100 megawatts when fully developed, while its first phase has already been commissioned in Lagos, reinforcing the country’s growing push to establish the infrastructure needed to compete in the emerging AI driven economy.