MTN challenges AWS, Google with naira-priced cloud services

MTN Nigeria, with 90.51 million mobile subscribers, wants a slice of Nigeria’s $850 million cloud market, which is currently dominated by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, with the launch of its new cloud services.

According to Lynda Saint-Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Nigerian businesses spent between $600 million and $850 million on cloud services in 2024. Research firm Mordor Intelligence projects that Nigeria’s cloud computing market will reach $1.03 billion in 2025 and grow to $3.28 billion by 2030.

Statista projects revenue from Nigeria’s public cloud market will hit $1.63 billion in 2025, with infrastructure-as-a-service accounting for $500.37 million. Most of this spend has translated to capital flight, with foreign providers, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominating the market.

However, since 2024, Nigerian startups have increasingly sought local alternatives for dollar-denominated services like cloud computing, driven by the naira’s sharp depreciation. The local currency, in which most startups generate revenue, has dropped from N471/$ before the Central Bank removed its rate cap to N1,529.71/$ as of 30 June 2025. A $1,000 cloud service that cost N471,000 in early 2023 now costs about N1.53 million, a 224.78 per cent increase.

“Nigerian businesses that are technologically driven have seen their costs rise, particularly those denominated in FX,” said Babatunde Akin-Moses, co-founder of Sycamore.

According to Saint-Nwafor, this cost burden is why MTN invested $20 million in building its new cloud service, powered by a new $100 million data centre in Lagos.

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, said the new platform will provide the digital backbone for businesses driving Nigeria’s economy.

“These include fintechs, edtechs, AI startups, and more. It is only through infrastructure like this that we can ensure data sovereignty, trust, and national productivity,” he said.

“Our cloud is crafted for Nigerian startups, enterprises, and public institutions,” said Ifeanyi Otudor, senior consultant, MTN Enterprise Solutions. “It helps tackle high latency, offshore data risks, and capital flight.”

He noted that the platform enables users to keep their data within Nigeria, complying with local regulations, and improved cybersecurity protocols. The service also offers self-orchestration, allowing customers to provision and scale resources autonomously, just as they would on AWS or Google Cloud, accelerating product development and reducing time-to-market.

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To compete, Saint-Nwafor noted that MTN will offer its cloud service at a 15 to 20 percent discount compared to international players, and more importantly, it will be priced in naira.

“There is a difference between charging in naira and being priced in naira,” she said, referring to AWS’s January move to accept naira payments.

“The cloud service provided is priced in naira, which reduces exposure to foreign exchange volatility. It minimises the initial outlay while improving performance, since everything is hosted in Nigeria,” emphasised Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN.

Before MTN’s entry, local providers like Nobus, Layer3, and Okra had already started gaining traction with startups due to affordability and ease of access.

Ebun Okunbajo, the former CEO of Bento, a digital payroll platform, recently disclosed, “We have moved to Nobus Cloud Services – a Nigerian cloud company.

“N4.9 million a year (AWS would have soon been 6 million a month). We kept E3, our APIs, and load balancers – some stuff on AWS, but minimal. Fellow builders –move to local clouds.”

To accelerate adoption, MTN is borrowing a leaf from Google by launching a 12-week accelerator program to attract growth-stage startups, including fintechs, agritechs, and others solving real problems. The telco said it would provide up to N100 million in grants and incentives through the program.

“We want Africa’s future to be powered by MTN’s cloud,” said Saint-Nwafor.

“This is local innovation with local impact,” added Otudor.

In 2019, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) released Nigeria’s Cloud Computing Policy to encourage public institutions and SMEs to patronise local providers. Reiterating this on Tuesday, Kashifu Inuwa, director general of NITDA, said, “This aligns with the recent Nigeria-first policy. Cloudification is a priority today because digital is now a lifestyle. This is an opportunity to show the world we are ready to build sovereign cloud infrastructure.”

While its accelerator program might give it an edge over local players, MTN must still compete with established players who already incentivise access to their cloud services. Google recently announced the ninth cohort of its startup accelerator program in Africa, heavily dominated by Nigerian firms. Since 2018, Google has provided over $5 million in equity-free funding and cloud credits to African startups. In April 2025, Werner Vogels, Amazon’s Chief Technology Officer, visited Lagos and said, “Amazon wants to follow where the talent is.”

While MTN has already signed Abia State to its cloud platform, its broader ambition lies in serving the tech ecosystem. According to Startup Genome, Lagos alone is home to over 2,000 startups.

The MTN cloud is powered by the first phase of its $235 million Dabengwa Data Centre. The Tier III facility, which spans three floors, supports a 4.5MW IT load and houses 780 racks, and cost about $100 million to build. The second phase, expected to double capacity to 9MW, is set for completion within 24 months.

MTN’s investment comes amid rising activity in the data infrastructure space. Players like Equinix (MainOne), Rack Centre, and Open Access Data Centres (OADC) are also scaling capacity. Data centres play a critical role in digital economies, enabling the secure storage, processing, and management of data. They also help with the localisation of content from global platforms like Meta and Google, providing resilience and eliminating latency.

“With the data centre launch, MTN is at the forefront of Nigeria’s digital space and ready to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) needs across the country as we expand the capacity of the data centre facility. In addition, the data centre will enhance Nigeria’s data sovereignty and ensure that local data is hosted in Nigeria and protected from exposure and attacks,” said Toriola, MTN’s CEO.

“We cannot build a modern economy without modern infrastructure. This facility is part of the modern infrastructure,” Tijani added.