Open Access Data Centres (OADC), a subsidiary of the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), has launched a new platform in Nigeria aimed at improving access to cloud services and addressing connectivity challenges across Africa.
The platform, known as Open Access Fabric (OAFabric), went live in Lagos and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this month.
According to OADC, OAFabric is designed to help organisations reduce costs and latency when connecting to global cloud platforms.
By creating a neutral environment for businesses, content providers, and cloud platforms to interconnect, the platform seeks to address barriers such as high internet transit costs, unreliable connectivity, and regulatory hurdles.
Over $500 million invested
OADC Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, said the company has invested more than $500 million in digital infrastructure over the last eight years, including data centres and cloud facilities.
According to him, for too long, organisations have faced real constraints, including limited access to international and local content, high Internet transit costs, latency and inconsistent network performance, gaps in local infrastructure such as colocation space, power and cooling, costly compute environments, bandwidth and cloud services and security, data sovereignty and regulatory complexity.
- He noted that OAFabric provides connectivity speeds of 1G, 10G and 100G, giving enterprises in Nigeria direct access to platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services.
- Coker added that the new system aligns with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)’s cloud policy, which prioritises secure, locally anchored cloud services.
- He explained that the platform is intended to simplify digital exchange by reducing fragmentation and accelerating connections between networks and enterprises.
Reducing latency in Nigeria
Head of Converged Digital Infrastructure Africa at OADC, Obinna Adumike, said the system can cut latency by at least 50% compared to traditional internet routing.
“OAFabric is not just infrastructure, it represents a shift in what is possible for Nigeria’s 200 million-plus population. It enables direct, low-latency and secure access to global cloud providers, reduces costs, and creates an environment where enterprises can scale faster,” he said.
He added that Nigerian businesses could achieve connectivity speeds of about 50 milliseconds between Lagos and European hubs such as London, Amsterdam, and Marseille, improving efficiency in financial transactions and digital services.
What you should know
The launch comes as Nigeria continues to push for digital transformation and greater investment in cloud adoption.
With over 200 million people and a growing reliance on digital services, improved access to cloud platforms is expected to benefit sectors such as finance, e-commerce, and education while making Nigeria more attractive to global technology providers.
