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Following the acquisition of MainOne- West African data centre by Equinix, the world’s digital infrastructure company, the company launched the Lekki II data centre facility earlier this week in Lagos, Nigeria, to drive the acceleration of digital services in the state.
“Having a parent company that is the world’s digital company choose to enter Africa through the acquisition of MainOne is a bold statement. Equinix recognizes that Lagos has the potential to become the digital infrastructure hub for Africa and we are delighted that through this acquisition Equinix will extend its network of 240 data centres in 66 markets to Lagos,” Funke Opeke, CEO, MainOne said.
In line with MainOne’s existing assets, the new Lekki II Data Center offers open access connectivity to all the telecom networks in Nigeria with an established presence on the Lekki campus.
Customers will enjoy access to a rich ecosystem of telecom operators, global networks, financial services companies, and content providers not just in Nigeria, but across West Africa.
“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,” Opeke said.
Founded in 2010, MaineOne provides network and connectivity services across west Africa, and provides colocation through its MXDi brand. In the same year, MainOne landed its submarine cable in Lagos as the first open-access private submarine cable in West Africa. According to the company, the events revolutionized internet access, not just in Nigeria, but all across West Africa.
In 2015, it launched its data centre subsidiary and the insight on this site has become the lifeline in online business in West Africa with a presence in NTSI most of the digital economy was revised in the presence of global cloud providers, such as Google, and Facebook, providing services across our region to all the leading banks in Nigeria.
The commendation came from Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos state, for building digital infrastructure in line with his Government’s strategy to make Lagos State a 21st Century Smart City.
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“Lagos is already on the map as the leading destination for technology companies on the African continent. Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country and we will continue to create an enabling environment for businesses to flourish by ensuring our policies support investment and create opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The event included a tour of the Lekki II facility which was commissioned for service by the Governor after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Lekki II provides immediate room for growth on MainOne’s Lekki Data Center campus which is targeted for further expansion of up to 10MW of data centre capacity under the Equinix umbrella.
“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,” Sanwo-Olu added.
MDXi currently has more than 5MW of capacity across four facilities in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire totalling 64,000 square feet (5,950 sqm). Its carrier-neutral data centres across the key markets of the above countries provide access to all internet exchanges, network providers and ISPs in the West African region.
Judith Gardiner, VP of Growth and Emerging Markets at Equinix welcomed MainOne as its latest acquisition and critical point of entry for Platform Equinix® to Africa.
“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.
To put this in context, Amsterdam as a key hub, with a population of 1 million people has 9 Equinix Data Centers with over 106MW capacity. Lagos, with a population of over 20 million, has the potential to far exceed this footprint. We are committed to bringing our capital, expertise, knowledge and customers to accelerate the digital age in Nigeria,” Gardiner said.
Globally, Equinix comprises 240 data centres across 66 metros and 27 countries on six continents, providing data centre and interconnection services to over 10,000 companies including more than 50 percent of 500 companies.
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