Amazon Web Services (AWS) opened its first office in Lagos, Nigeria, on November 1, 2022. After opening its first office in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2017, the Lagos branch has now opened and is operational.
With this move, AWS will be closer to supporting African companies. AWS already serves a number of Nigerian firms, including SeamlessHR, Yellow Card, BFree, Bankly, and public sector organisations.
The Lagos location will contain teams of AWS account managers, partner managers, solutions architects, and other jobs that support Nigerian customers. It is AWS’s most recent investment in Africa.
Amrote Abdella, regional manager of Sub -Saharan Africa at AWS, said, “Lagos offers a highly skilled and creative talent pool, and the area is home to many fast-growing startups and notable Nigerian enterprises leading the way in digital innovation.”
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Africa’s Internet customers are expected to double to 483 million by 2025 from 239 million in 2018 as internet adoption continues to expand on the continent. Cloud-based apps are becoming an increasingly important part of the contemporary African workplace and way of life.
Nigeria’s minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, commented on the announcement, “The Service Infrastructure Pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) emphasizes the importance of digital platforms in the development of a robust digital economy. The programmes 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 Progress of AWS in Nigeria in Line with Cloud Computing
Despite the obvious necessity for businesses to migrate to the cloud, this cannot happen without help. In addition to free cloud credit to offer new customers a taste of what’s available before they commit significant sums of money to pay for the service, technical support and training are essential for a seamless transition.
Through initiatives like AWS Activate, which offers startups resources, including $100,000 in AWS credits, training, support, and connections to incubators, accelerators, and venture capital firms, AWS has, over the years, encouraged the migration of Nigerian businesses to the cloud.
Students, educators, and startups can benefit from educational programmes like AWS Academy, AWS Educate, and AWS re/Start by gaining knowledge and skills about AWS Cloud computing. There are about 3500 AWS Academy members in Nigeria.
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Aside from AWS, Here Are Other Companies That Have Partnered with Africa
International cloud corporations have hurried to build data centres and create a presence on the African continent over the past six years. In 2016, IBM unveiled its first data centre in Africa. In March 2019, Huawei opened two data centres in South Africa, while Microsoft later that month announced its first Azure data centre in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Huawei also has intentions to expand to Nigeria.
With the introduction of its first African Google Cloud region in South Africa in October 2022, Google entered the African market.
These actions show that there is interest in the African connectivity and cloud computing sector and that there are numerous opportunities. The growth of startups in Africa, the majority of which are software firms, has raised the demand for cloud computing services. Businesses often take into account how close cloud servers are to the sources of their customers’ requests. The lower the latency, which enhances the service quality, the closer these servers are to the customers. There are presently 26 operational AWS regions and 8 more that are being developed.
Nigeria and Africa remain open to more partnerships like this. It is also beneficial to the citizens who are consumers of these goods and services. Having an office in close proximity is a game-changer.