Located in Ikeja, MTN said the 9MW data centre, named after late Chief Executive Officer, Sifiso Dabengwa, will be built in two phases. Phase One, a 4.5MW capacity Tier 3 data centre, costing about $120 million, including cloud infrastructure in partnership with Dell Technologies, was
unveiled on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Speaking to journalists, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Dr. Karl Toriola, said, “The centre would be Nigeria’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, with 96 prefabricated containers and a total rack capacity of about 1,500.

It’s fully modular in power and cooling, occupying three floors.”

A prototype of the new Dabengwa data centre, West Africa’s largest prefabricated modular data hub.

This strategic partnership delivers cutting-edge computing power, secure storage, and seamless cloud integration, empowering businesses to enhance operational efficiency, maintain regulatory compliance, and accelerate digital transformation within a trusted, locally hosted environment.

This initiative underscores MTN’s ambition to evolve beyond a traditional telecommunications provider into a leading techo, a trusted technology partner dedicated to delivering innovative digital solutions.

Providing further insight on the cost element, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said, “It cost MTN the sum of $100 million for the Phase 1 data centre infrastructure, with an additional $20 million for the cloud infrastructure.”

Read the full story: The Guardian.