Nigeria's First AI Data Center Campus Rises in Lagos

Along Nigeria's Atlantic coast, concrete and steel frames are taking shape on a 42-hectare site that could change the country's digital trajectory. Kasi Cloud, a $250 million data center campus in Lekki, Lagos, is preparing to open its first phase in April 2026 as Nigeria's first facility purpose-built for artificial intelligence.

The numbers tell the ambition story. Nigeria's 17 existing data centers max out at 20 megawatts each, built for traditional computing needs. Kasi Cloud is engineered for 100 megawatts at full build-out, with individual server racks that can handle up to 100 kilowatts compared to the typical 5 to 10 kilowatts in Lagos facilities today.

"This is not a retrofit," says Johnson Agogbua, Kasi Cloud's founder and CEO. "This was designed for AI from day one."

The first building towers six floors, with four entire levels dedicated to data halls. Each floor can support 8 megawatts of power, giving the structure 32 megawatts of total capacity. The April opening will activate 5.5 megawatts on one floor, expanding to full capacity as demand grows.

Every design choice reflects the computing intensity AI requires. Massive steel columns support solid busbars instead of cable bundles, distributing thousands of amps of electricity efficiently. Four independent high-voltage feeds ensure operations continue even during outages.

The cooling system stands out too. Instead of noisy mechanical systems, Kasi Cloud brings liquid cooling directly to server racks and down to individual chipsets. Floor channels are built in because, as Agogbua puts it, "eventually, a pipe will burst," and the goal is preventing catastrophic failures.

Even the structural details matter. Ceilings rise higher than normal, corridors stretch wider, and concrete columns stand thick and closely spaced to handle the weight of advanced AI equipment and liquid-cooling infrastructure.

The Ripple Effect

This campus matters beyond Lagos. As hyperscale AI facilities multiply worldwide to train and deploy advanced models, Africa's most populous nation was at risk of being left behind without matching infrastructure. Kasi Cloud gives Nigerian businesses, researchers, and developers access to computing power that previously required overseas partnerships.

The facility also creates a template. With government permits for four buildings on site, the phased approach demonstrates how African nations can build world-class digital infrastructure without compromising on standards or future capacity.

Construction crews broke ground in April 2022, with building beginning in earnest during 2023's second quarter. Commercial operations launch this spring, bringing Nigeria into the global AI infrastructure conversation not as an observer but as a participant with serious capacity.

The sea breeze cutting across the construction site carries more than salt air now. It carries possibility for what happens when infrastructure catches up to ambition.