{
  "id": 1734029,
  "title": "Nigeria’s new cloud policy puts government at the centre of its cloud market",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/nigerias-new-cloud-policy-puts-government-at-the-centre-of-its-cloud",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-18T15:16:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechCabal",
    "slug": "techcabal",
    "url": "https://techcabal.com/2026/08/18/nigerias-new-cloud-policy-puts-government-at-the-centre-of-its-cloud-market/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's National Digital Cloud Policy aims to shift government operations towards in-country cloud infrastructure, potentially creating a significant new market for local cloud providers. Currently, over 90% of Nigeria's digital data and enterprise workloads are stored on offshore servers, resulting in an estimated $850 million in annual capital flight. By 2031, the government projects the cloud and data centre market to reach $782 million. The policy, released by Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, directs federal ministries, departments and agencies to prioritize cloud infrastructure when developing new digital systems and services. This shift is expected to make government platforms, such as those used for public services, record management, and identity verification, more reliable and faster. The policy mandates cloud deployment for all new digital systems and requires agencies to develop phased cloud migration plans. It establishes rules for sensitive data storage and processing, procurement procedures, provider registration, data transfer mechanisms, and incentives for investment in digital infrastructure. Under the policy, government agencies must default to cloud deployment for new systems, with exemptions granted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for a limited time. Galaxy Backbone Limited will aggregate cloud demand from multiple providers, including domestic and international companies, and negotiate framework agreements for government procurement. Data in Nigeria is classified by sensitivity, with Level 4 data (national security, defence, and critical infrastructure) requiring exclusive in-country hosting. Level 3 data (financial, health, biometric, and identity information) must be stored in Nigeria with processing permitted elsewhere under strict safeguards. Level 2 data (internal government records) can be hosted in hybrid environments with prior authorization. Level 1 data (public information) can be stored anywhere. The policy allows for data generated by federal regulations to be designated as sovereign data, subject to residency requirements. The government aims to balance investment promotion, competition, indigenous capability development, and sovereignty requirements where genuinely necessary.",
  "summary": "On Monday, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy released the National Digital Cloud Policy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}