Amazon Web Services (AWS) has opened its first office in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to a statement released by the company, the new office is part of AWS’s support for the growing number of customers and partners in Nigeria.

The company said the office will support organisations of all sizes, including start-ups, enterprises, and public sector agencies as they make the transition to AWS Cloud.

“By opening a Lagos office, AWS can better address the increase in customer and partner adoption of AWS services in Nigeria. With a local presence, AWS will support new and existing customers looking to use AWS products and services to innovate, lower their information technology (IT) costs, and grow their organisations in the cloud,” the company added.

Amrote Abdella, Regional Manager of Sub-Saharan Africa at AWS, said, “We are excited to open our first AWS office in Nigeria. Lagos offers a highly skilled and creative talent pool, and the area is home to many fast-growing start-ups and notable Nigerian enterprises leading the way in digital innovation.”

“We look forward to fostering the country’s pioneering spirit and helping our customers accelerate their digital transformation as they deliver innovative new products and services to the Nigerian community.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, said, “The Service Infrastructure Pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) emphasises the importance of digital platforms in the development of a robust digital economy.The programs of Amazon Web Services support the development of such platforms and we look forward to partnering with AWS to accelerate the implementation of NDEPS”

The new Lagos office is AWS’ latest investment in Africa.

The company adds that teams of AWS account managers, partner managers, solutions architects, and other roles support Nigerian customers, running everything from development and test environments to big data analytics; mobile, web, and social apps; enterprise business applications; Internet of Things (IOT); and mission critical workloads.

AWS has also affirmed its support for Nigeria start-ups and the community with programs like AWS Activate and AWS educational programs like AWS Academy, AWS Educate and AWS re/Start.

“AWS Activate provides start-ups with the resources they need to get started on AWS, including up to $100,000 in AWS credits, training, support, and contact with incubators, accelerators, and venture capital firms,” the company stated.

AWS re/Start in Nigeria has expanded the program to Lagos, Edo, and Benue. In Benue state, AWS Partner, New Vision Institute Technology, recently opened a campus hosting over 100 AWS re/Start learners in Otukpo, Nigeria, a remote rural community.