As digital transformation accelerates at lightning speed across Africa, demand for secure, high-capacity data centre infrastructure is skyrocketing. To meet this soaring demand and power Africa’s digital economy, Airtel Africa this week launched an ambitious new data centre business called Nxtra.
“With Nxtra, Airtel plans to build the largest network of Data centres in Africa,” the company announced. “The company says that it will have high-capacity data centres in major cities across the continent.” This extensive network will allow Nxtra to serve businesses of all sizes looking for reliable and scalable digital infrastructure.
Nigeria Will Get The First Nxtra Data Centre
Nxtra’s first major data centre will launch in Lagos, Nigeria, in mid-2025. As Nigeria’s economic centre, Lagos is an optimal location with surging connectivity needs. Nxtra is planning for the long term by building a high-density, hyper-scale facility with massive power capacity.
“The first major Nxtra facility in Lagos, Nigeria, will deliver 34 MW of total power. It is designed to host high-density racks and integrate the latest best practices in construction to achieve 1.3 power usage effectiveness (PUE).”
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By integrating cutting-edge design focused on sustainability and energy efficiency, this Tier III facility will meet rapidly accelerating demand from Nigeria’s booming digital economy for decades.
Serving Hundreds of Businesses Across Industry Verticals
Rather than serving a narrow segment, Nxtra plans to provide secure, scalable infrastructure solutions to hundreds of local and global customers including:
- Global hyper-scale cloud providers
- Large Nigerian and African enterprises
- High-growth startups
- Small and midsize businesses
- Public sector organizations
“These facilities will meet stringent global security requirements and meet ‘five nines’ availability,” Nxtra pledged. “Coupled with Airtel Africa’s extensive fibre footprint, Nxtra offers secure and scalable integrated solutions to global hyper-scalers, large African enterprises, startups, SMEs and governments.”
By serving customers across verticals, Nxtra will become deeply embedded in Africa’s digital ecosystem and drive widespread economic growth.
Visionary Leadership with Proven Execution Capabilities
To lead Nxtra, Airtel Africa has appointed industry veteran Yashnath Issur, who previously headed Global Data Centre Portfolio Management at Amazon Web Services.
Reporting to the CEO is a cross-functional leadership team with deep expertise in data centre design, construction, operations and commercial management.
This combination of world-class leadership and unparalleled execution capabilities makes Nxtra well-positioned to swiftly capitalize on Africa’s data centre market poised for exponential growth.
With its ambitious vision backed by strategic investments across Africa, Nxtra is ready to power the next phase of the continent’s digital revolution.
