The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), has entered into a transformative partnership with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services for startups under the iHatch programme marking a bold step toward redefining Nigeria’s innovation landscape.
At a time when startups face rising infrastructure costs, foreign exchange volatility, and limited access to scalable digital tools, this collaboration delivers a timely intervention. By leveraging the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), participating startups will gain access to a secure, high-performance sovereign cloud environment powered by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, an extensive nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity architecture. This ensures not just reliability and speed, but also compliance with data protection and sovereignty requirements an increasingly critical factor in today’s digital economy.
According to Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the partnership is a strategic move to eliminate one of the biggest barriers to startup growth access to affordable and reliable infrastructure. He noted that by enabling startups to build and scale on world-class digital platforms within Nigeria, NITDA is actively strengthening the country’s position in the global digital economy while fostering local innovation.
Echoing this vision, Ibrahim Adeyanju stated that the initiative goes beyond cost reduction. He emphasised that it empowers startups with enterprise-grade capabilities previously accessible only to large corporations, allowing them to innovate faster, scale seamlessly, and retain their data within Nigeria—thereby reinforcing national digital sovereignty and economic resilience.
A standout feature of the initiative is its structured, growth-driven support model. Through a tiered system, startups will receive cloud credits aligned with their development phases Build, Validate, and Scale—ensuring that support is both targeted and impactful. These credits are valid for 12 months, after which startups can transition smoothly into standard or pay-as-you-go billing models without disruption to their operations.
To further enhance adoption and efficiency, GBB will deploy a dedicated Startup Success Team responsible for onboarding, technical guidance, and continuous support. Startups will also benefit from automated monitoring tools that provide real-time insights into usage, helping them optimise resources, manage costs effectively, and avoid unnecessary expenditure.
One of the most strategic advantages of this partnership is its localised billing structure. By denominating all post-credit services in Nigerian Naira, the initiative shields startups from the uncertainties of foreign exchange fluctuations,a major challenge that has historically hindered tech startups relying on foreign cloud providers.
Speaking on the broader implications, Abdul Malik Suleiman described the partnership as a deliberate and forward-thinking effort to bridge the long-standing gap between infrastructure availability and innovation potential in Nigeria. He noted that making world-class cloud infrastructure accessible to startups is key to unlocking the next generation of tech-driven solutions.
Similarly, Victoria Fabunmi highlighted that integrating sovereign cloud capabilities into the iHatch programme significantly enhances startups’ ability to move from ideation to market readiness and scale. She stressed that equipping startups with the right tools at the right stage is critical to ensuring they remain competitive not only locally but on the global stage.
The iHatch programme itself continues to demonstrate strong impact, having already supported and trained over 160 startups across 37 innovation hubs nationwide. With this new partnership, the programme is poised to deepen its reach, accelerate innovation cycles, and improve startup survival and success rates.
Ultimately, this NITDA-GBB collaboration is more than just a partnership it is a strategic investment in Nigeria’s digital future. By lowering entry barriers, strengthening infrastructure access, and promoting local data hosting, the initiative sets the stage for a more inclusive, resilient, and globally competitive startup ecosystem.
