Amrote Abdella, the regional manager of Sub -Saharan Africa at Amazon Web Services (AWS) earlier in the week announced the company’s plans to open a local office in Lagos, Nigeria. This would be the cloud computing company’s second office on the continent after its first office in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2017.
Why it matters
This move would create and strengthen the bond between AWS and African startups. Plus, this is a win for Nigeria, a country that has seen an endless list of companies pull out of the country in recent times due to government regulations, insecurity, notorious traffic, and much more.
African scope
In recent years, Africa has seen an increased influx of renowned cloud companies, especially in the continent’s big tech four countries. For example, IBM launched its first African data center in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2016. Huawei also has two data centers in South Africa with plans to expand to Nigeria in March 2019. Microsoft also has a data center in Cape Town and Johannesburg. This year Google joined the cloud companies in Johannesburg.
- This shows that Africa’s connectivity and cloud computing market is capturing global interest and opportunities on the one hand. On the other hand, the rise in software startups on the continent also plays a part in the influx of these companies.
- Research has proven that the proximity of cloud computing service providers to customers’ locations reduces the data latency. Hence, improving the quality of service. Therefore, establishing a local office on its bases of operation is a win for both African companies and global cloud computing providers
Looking forward
Projections are that with the rising adoption of internet services in Africa, the continent’s internet subscribers could double from 239 million in 2018 to 483 million by 2025. This is as African startups continue to integrate cloud-based applications as a significant tool in modern workplace and life.