The global cloud computing market, which has been estimated to reach $480 billion in 2022, is expected to attract more Nigerian enterprises as Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has opened its first Nigerian office in Lagos.
AWS, which accounts for about one-third of global market share, sees its entry into Nigeria as part of a plan to support different organisations – big, small, startups, and public sector agencies – in making the transition to AWS Cloud.
As organisations, both public and private, increasingly find cloud transition imperative, AWS said with its new office, it can better address the increase in customer and partner adoption of AWS services in Nigeria.
With a local presence, AWS expects to support new and existing customers looking to use AWS products and services to innovate, lower their information technology costs, and grow their organisations in the cloud.
BusinessDay had reported in July that AWS was making an entry into Nigeria following the launch of ‘AWS Outposts’, an infrastructure service that enables users to locally host, run, manage their workload and connect with Amazon’s cloud service offerings.
“We are excited to open our first AWS office in Nigeria. 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,” said Amrote Abdella, regional manager, sub-Saharan Africa at AWS.
“We look forward to fostering the country’s pioneering spirit and helping our customers accelerate their digital transformation as they deliver innovative new products and services to the Nigerian community.”
Isa Ali Ibrahim, minister of communications and digital economy, was quoted in a statement from AWS as saying: “The service infrastructure pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) emphasises the importance of digital platforms in the development of a robust digital economy.
“The programs of Amazon Web Services support the development of such platforms and we look forward to partnering with AWS to accelerate the implementation of NDEPS.”
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The new Lagos office, according to AWS, is its latest investment in Africa, housing teams of AWS account managers, partner managers, solutions architects, and other roles. These are to support Nigerian customers running everything from development and test environments to big data analytics; mobile, web, and social apps; enterprise business applications; Internet of Things; and mission critical workloads.
AWS said it has some of Nigeria’s fastest-growing and best-known startups and businesses as customers, including SeamlessHR, Yellow Card, BFree, Bankly, and public sector organisations.
The company also said it actively supports Nigeria startups and the community with programs like AWS Activate and AWS educational programs like AWS Academy, AWS Educate and AWS re/Start. AWS Activate provides startups with the resources they need to get started on AWS, including up to $100,000 in AWS credits, training, support, and contact with incubators, accelerators, and venture capital firms. AWS Academy helps university students and educators develop knowledge and skills about AWS Cloud computing, to accelerate cloud-related learning.
AWS Academy member institutions in Nigeria include the University of Benin, University of Jos and Igbinedion University. AWS re/Start is a 12-week, in-person, skills-based training program that covers fundamental AWS Cloud skills and practical career skills, such as interviewing and resume writing, to help prepare individuals for entry-level cloud positions.
AWS re/Start in Nigeria has expanded the program to three locations — Lagos, Edo, and Benue. In Benue State, AWS Partner, New Vision Institute Technology, recently opened a campus hosting over 100 AWS re/Start learners in Otukpo, Benue.
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