The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has partner with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services for startups participating in the iHatch programme.
Mrs Hadiza Umar, Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations of NITDA said this in a statement she issued in Abuja.
Umar said the services would be provided through the Office subsidiary, for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI).
Idea Hatch (iHATCH) incubation programme, is an initiative by NITDA and supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
iHatch is a three to five months free intensive incubation programme designed to help Nigerian entrepreneurs refine their business ideas through a series of coaching, lectures, and boot camps, to generate viable and scalable business models.
Umar futher said that the partnership was aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s digital ecosystem by promoting data sovereignty, digital inclusion and indigenous innovation.
“This collaboration is 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).
“This is a sovereign infrastructure supported by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, a nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity capabilities,” she said.
In the statement, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, said the collaboration aligned with the agency’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem through access to critical digital infrastructure.
According to him, providing startups with reliable and secure cloud infrastructure will enable them to innovate, grow and compete effectively in the global digital economy.
Prof. Ibrahim Adeyemi, Managing Director of GBB, also said the initiative would empower startups with secure enterprise-grade cloud services at highly subsidised rates.
Adeyanju said the arrangement would also enable startups to host their data locally, thereby strengthening Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and reducing dependence on foreign infrastructure.
He explained that the initiative would adopt a tiered, milestone-based model in which cloud credits would be released in phases covering the “Build, Validate and Scale” stages of a startup’s growth journey.
He clarified that the credits would remain valid for 12 months, after which participating startups could migrate to standard or pay-as-you-go billing models.
“To ensure smooth adoption and sustainability, GBB has established a dedicated Startup Success Team to support participating startups, alongside automated usage monitoring tools for efficient resource management,” he said.
Adeyanju added that all post-credit billing would be denominated in Naira to shield startups from the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations.
Mr Abdul Suleiman, General Manager of Strategic Partnerships, GBB, described the collaboration as a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between digital infrastructure and innovation.
Ms Victoria Fabunmi, National Coordinator of ONDI, said integrating GBB’s sovereign cloud infrastructure into the iHatch programme would strengthen the ability of startups to scale and compete globally using the right digital tools.
Fabunmi noted that the iHatch programme had already trained more than 160 startups across 37 hub partners nationwide.
She expressed confidence that the new partnership would further accelerate innovation and business growth within Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
