A Chinese firm, China Mobile International, and an indigenous operator, 21st Century Technologies, have struck a new deal targeted at expanding regional sovereign cloud platforms and AI-enabled digital infrastructure.

The deal, inked in Lagos, aimed to strengthen local data hosting, support digital transformation and expand access to cloud services for government institutions and businesses.

Speaking at the partnership signing, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 21st Century Technologies, Wale Ajisebutu, disclosed that the collaboration builds on the company’s nearly three decades of investment in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.

He said the deal will combine 21st Century Technologies’ infrastructure footprint with China Mobile International’s solutions and technology expertise to accelerate the development of cloud services and support the country’s growing digital economy.

According to him, Nigeria’s increasing focus on data sovereignty presents an opportunity to retain more digital content and services within the country.

Ajisebutu is confident that organisations currently hosting data abroad would increasingly migrate to local infrastructure as domestic cloud and data centre capacity expands.

“Nigeria’s data centre capacity remains underutilised. We are creating content here and building our own cloud. This partnership will revolutionise the market and take services to the next level.

“This is the beginning of a renaissance. Enterprises will soon stop hosting abroad and begin to use what we have locally,” he stated.

The 21st Century boss further expressed confidence that government enforcement of data sovereignty will accelerate adoption.

Speaking, Managing Director, Africa Region, China Mobile International, Terry Leung, described the partnership as a major step in delivering cloud services tailored to Nigeria’s needs.

He stated that the platform would provide cloud resources and digital applications for enterprises, government institutions and individuals while creating a foundation for future AI-driven services.

He asserted that cloud infrastructure would play a critical role in helping Nigeria keep pace with global technological developments.

Leung noted that China Mobile, which serves more than one billion mobile subscribers globally and operates in 55 countries, is leveraging its international telecommunications and technology assets to support digital transformation efforts across Africa.