The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the government establishment that manages the Nigerian sovereign wealth fund, has thrown its support for the building of Kasi Cloud Data Centres in Lekki, saying it will create more jobs and also digitise Nigeria.

Managing Director/CEO of NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, who said this on Tuesday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the commencement of Kasi Cloud Data Centres in Lekki, explained that the data centre would be the first investment of NSIA in the area of digital technology, adding that NSIA is open for collaboration with other organisations and investors.

“We see digital technology as the backbone of enabling infrastructure, we also see it as an opportunity to diversify our software products and solutions, which is an investment opportunity for Nigeria and Africa. Two years ago the board priotised this area of our investment plans because digital technology offers us the opportunity to leapfrog and compete with other countries in technology innovation. We have all it takes as a country to play vital roles in digital technology. It is for this reason that we are supporting Kasi Cloud Data Centre, because it will create digital jobs that will help digitise the Nigerian economy,” Orji said.

Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, also said the coming of the Tier IV Kasi Cloud Data Centres into Nigeria through Lagos State, would digitise Nigeria and would further help to acutalise the dreams of the state in using technology to advance development.

The governor said the data centre, when completed, would help in digitising Lagos State and the entire Nigeria.

According to the governor, “The ground breaking of Kasi Cloud Data Centres in Lagos will complement Lagos State government’s mission to digitally transform Lagos State and Nigeria. It is the desire of Lagos State government to use technology and education to create the 21 Century Lagos that is our collective dreams. Lagos government welcomes the investments of Kasi Cloud Data Centres in Lekki, because it will help the state to actualise its dreams.

“We are in an era where demand for data is high, and data is driving the future of technology innovation. With Kasi Cloud Data Centres, Lagos will be building a world-class infrastructure on data. Lagos will therefore support Kasi Cloud Data Centres to achieve its dreams. The data centre is expected to become one of the biggest in Nigeria and Africa after completion and we are proud to to associated with them.

“Its about $250 million investments, sitting on 40,000 square metres of land in Lekki Peninsula, Lagos. The Kasi Cloud Data Centres and the Technology Campus will not only create jobs, but will also attract additional investments and will deliver high speed internet access to drive a competitive ecosystem.”

Former Minister of Information and Communications, Frank Nweke Jnr, who was also present at the ground breaking ceremony, commended Lagos Sate governor for supporting Kasi Cloud Data Centres, which he said would further attract more investors in Lagos and enhance job creation. “Nigeria needs more data centres to meet the increasing data demand in the country,” the former minister said.

Founder/CEO, Kasi Cloud Data Centres, Mr. Johnson Agogbua, said the Cloud Hyper Scale Data Centres investments have commenced and would be completed and ready for business in one year’s time. He said it would accelerate the rapid adoption of cloud computing in Nigeria, when completed.

“Its a market place  for the development of digital products and for offering of digital contents across the entire  Nigerian cities and communities, and it will help in creating skilled jobs and technology innovation.

“It is a Tier IV Data Centre with 99.999 per cent process availability, and it is a neutral data centre that can accommodate all other operators,” Agogbua said.

Corporate Development at Kasi Cloud Data Centres, Ibrahim Dikko, said: “The coming of Kasi Cloud Data Centres in Lagos, will bring significant improvement on Nigeria’s economy. The data centre will be targeting enterprise businesses and telecommunications companies across the country. The scale and size of our facilities will definitely stand us out among other data centre operators in Nigeria.”