NITDA, Galaxy Backbone subsidises sovereign cloud services for Nigerian startups
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at providing subsidised sovereign cloud services for startups in the iHatch
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at providing subsidised sovereign cloud services for startups in the iHatch programme.
The deal is being coordinated by the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB), Nigeria’s foremost ICT infrastructure and shared services provider.
NITDA’s Director of Corporate Communications, Hajiya Hadiza Umar, said the collaboration was a critical step in Nigeria’s digital evolution, focusing on data sovereignty, digital inclusion, and the growth of indigenous innovation.
“Under this agreement, participating startups will be onboarded to the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), a sovereign infrastructure supported by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, a nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity capabilities,” Hajiya Umar said in a statement at the weekend in Abuja.
The NITDA director said the agency’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, expressed delight in the collaboration.
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The DG noted that the partnership reinforced the agency’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem by providing access to essential digital infrastructure.
Umar also quoted the Managing Director/CEO of GBB, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, as saying that the initiative would empower startups with secure, enterprise-grade cloud services at highly subsidised rates, allowing them to host data locally and strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.
“To ensure sustainability, GBB will use a tiered, milestone-based model where cloud credits are released across the ‘Build, Validate, and Scale’ phases of a startup’s journey.
“These credits are valid for 12 months, after which startups transition to standard or pay-as-you-go billing.
“The initiative includes a dedicated Startup Success Team from GBB to drive adoption, along with automated usage monitoring for resource optimization. Crucially, all post-credit billing will be in Nigerian Naira to protect startups from foreign exchange volatility,” Hajiya Umar said.
Also, GBB’s General Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Abdul Malik Suleiman, described the move as a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between infrastructure and innovation.
The National Coordinator of ONDI, Victoria Fabunmi, noted that integrating GBB’s sovereign cloud into iHatch enhances the capacity of startups to scale while using the right tools to compete globally.
Our correspondent gathered that the iHatch programme has trained over 160 startups across 37 hub partners, while the partnership is expected to further accelerate innovation and scale within Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
