Hot on the heels of its recent acquisition by global digital infrastructure company Equinix, MainOne is pursuing fresh opportunities within regional infrastructure development within Nigeria and recently launched a new datacentre ‘Lekki II’.

Earlier this month Equinix acquired the West African datacentre and connectivity solutions provider for an enterprise value of US$320-million, effectively marking the beginning of its expansion into Africa.

Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the expanded digital infrastructure is in line with his government’s strategy to make Lagos State a 21st Century Smart City.

He added that: “Lagos is already on the map as the leading destination for technology companies on the African continent. Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country and we will continue to create an enabling environment for businesses to flourish by ensuring our policies support investment and create opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. We can see that Equinix is now poised not only to be the biggest digital infrastructure player in Nigeria but in Africa, and we welcome Equinix to the heartbeat of the country, the Centre of Excellence, the largest economy in Africa and the technology transformation hub of Africa”.

Funke Opeke, CEO, MainOne.

CEO of MainOne, Funke Opeke said: “We are delighted to be expanding our Lekki Campus today to increase capacity in our region. Indeed, having a parent company that is the world’s digital company choose to enter Africa through the acquisition of MainOne is a bold statement. Equinix recognises that Lagos has the potential to become the digital infrastructure hub for Africa and we are delighted that through this acquisition Equinix will extend its network of 240 data centers in 66 markets to Lagos. Our plans include further expansion to the Lekki Campus to accommodate the requirements of global hyperscalers and regional businesses as we expand to connect the over 10,000 companies already on the Equinix platform. These businesses will now have access to our region and local businesses will come onboard to interconnect with them.”.

Lekki II provides immediate room for growth on MainOne’s Lekki Datacentre campus which is targeted for further expansion up to 10MW of datacentre capacity under the Equinix umbrella.

Judith Gardiner, VP Growth and Emerging Markets at Equinix welcomed MainOne as its latest acquisition and critical point of entry for Platform Equinix to Africa. “By extending our global reach, we offer our 10,000 customers a significantly large new market to enter and interconnect with at many levels. Our expectations are high given what we have learned about the vision of the Lagos State Government and we are committed to making Lagos the Digital hub of Africa. To put this in context, Amsterdam as a key hub, with a population of 1 million people has 9 Equinix datacentres with over 106MW capacity. Lagos, with a population of over 20 million, has the potential to far exceed this footprint. We are committed to bringing our capital, expertise, knowledge and customers to accelerate the digital age in Nigeria”.

In line with MainOne’s existing assets, the new Lekki II Datacentre offers open access connectivity to all telecommunication networks in Nigeria with established presence on the Lekki campus.