Sunday, October 19, 2025
29.4 C
Lagos

Business

Troyka Holdings Chair, Biodun Shobanjo, Inducted into Loeries Hall of Fame

Nigeria’s foremost advertising leader and Chairman of Troyka Holdings,...

Zenith Bank, NEM, Seplat, AIICO, Dangote Cement, First HoldCo Recognised as Nigeria’s High-Performing Companies

L-R:    Michael Ani, Manager, Investor Relations, Dangote Cement; Oluseyi...

Finance Min, Wale Edun, to Keynote FiBOP Annual Confab Oct 18

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of...

Niteon Unveils First African Manufacturers Bank to Unlock $200bn Digital Export Market

Niteon, one of Nigeria's largest digital export marketplaces, has...

FG Boosts MSME Financing with NCGC Initiative

In a bid to boost economic growth and development,...

ICT

Konga Partners Verve to Delight Customers with Free Shopping Vouchers

  Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce platform has partnered with...

NCC Spotlights Renewable Energy on World Consumer Rights Day

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has concluded arrangements to...

Governors, NCC Set for Broadband Awareness Forum Oct 20

All Nigeria State Governors are set to discuss how...

VerveLife 5.0 Gears Up for Nairobi, Lagos Events

Following a successful series of Verve Life 5.0 satellite...

Telecom Infrastructure Critical to Successful 2023 Elections – Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission,...

Capital Market

SEC DG: Commission Considering Gradual Implementation of ISSB Standards

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

ISSB-Aligned Disclosures Will Lower Capital Costs, Attract Global Investors — SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans...

SEC DG to Cadets:  Invest Early, Long Term to Create Wealth

Graduating Cadets of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) have...

SEC DG: Accountability, Transparency will Boost Investor Confidence in Capital Market

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

SEC DG: Digital Assets Represent $10tn Opportunity by 2030

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

Insurance

13-year-old Rhema-Love Abraham Emerges Winner of 2025 Heirs Insurance Essay Championship

L:R- Funmi Olotu, National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating...

Leadway Assurance: Insurance Company of the Year at 2025 BAFI Awards

L-R: Managing Director, Leadway Assurance, Gboyega Lesi; Publisher, BuisnessDay...

Heirs Insurance Group Announces Inaugural Travel Festival: A Call for Inclusive Travel Ecosystem for Africans

Heirs Insurance Group (HIG), Nigeria’s fastest-growing insurance group, has...

Sovereign Trust Insurance Celebrates 2025 Customer Service Week

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has been actively involved in...

Leadway: 55 Years of Innovation, Expanding Financial Access, Inclusion Across West Africa

Leadway, one of Nigeria’s foremost non-banking financial services and...

Business

Troyka Holdings Chair, Biodun Shobanjo, Inducted into Loeries Hall of Fame

Nigeria’s foremost advertising leader and Chairman of Troyka Holdings,...

Zenith Bank, NEM, Seplat, AIICO, Dangote Cement, First HoldCo Recognised as Nigeria’s High-Performing Companies

L-R:    Michael Ani, Manager, Investor Relations, Dangote Cement; Oluseyi...

Finance Min, Wale Edun, to Keynote FiBOP Annual Confab Oct 18

The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of...

Niteon Unveils First African Manufacturers Bank to Unlock $200bn Digital Export Market

Niteon, one of Nigeria's largest digital export marketplaces, has...

FG Boosts MSME Financing with NCGC Initiative

In a bid to boost economic growth and development,...

ICT

Konga Partners Verve to Delight Customers with Free Shopping Vouchers

  Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce platform has partnered with...

NCC Spotlights Renewable Energy on World Consumer Rights Day

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has concluded arrangements to...

Governors, NCC Set for Broadband Awareness Forum Oct 20

All Nigeria State Governors are set to discuss how...

VerveLife 5.0 Gears Up for Nairobi, Lagos Events

Following a successful series of Verve Life 5.0 satellite...

Telecom Infrastructure Critical to Successful 2023 Elections – Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission,...

Capital Market

SEC DG: Commission Considering Gradual Implementation of ISSB Standards

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

ISSB-Aligned Disclosures Will Lower Capital Costs, Attract Global Investors — SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans...

SEC DG to Cadets:  Invest Early, Long Term to Create Wealth

Graduating Cadets of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) have...

SEC DG: Accountability, Transparency will Boost Investor Confidence in Capital Market

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

SEC DG: Digital Assets Represent $10tn Opportunity by 2030

The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission...

Insurance

13-year-old Rhema-Love Abraham Emerges Winner of 2025 Heirs Insurance Essay Championship

L:R- Funmi Olotu, National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating...

Leadway Assurance: Insurance Company of the Year at 2025 BAFI Awards

L-R: Managing Director, Leadway Assurance, Gboyega Lesi; Publisher, BuisnessDay...

Heirs Insurance Group Announces Inaugural Travel Festival: A Call for Inclusive Travel Ecosystem for Africans

Heirs Insurance Group (HIG), Nigeria’s fastest-growing insurance group, has...

Sovereign Trust Insurance Celebrates 2025 Customer Service Week

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has been actively involved in...

Leadway: 55 Years of Innovation, Expanding Financial Access, Inclusion Across West Africa

Leadway, one of Nigeria’s foremost non-banking financial services and...

Microsoft Opens 1st Data Centres in Africa with Availability of Azure

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the opening of its first data centres in Africa, with the general availability of Azure from the new cloud regions in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.

This makes Microsoft the first global provider to deliver cloud services from data centres on the continent, which will help companies securely and reliably move their businesses to the cloud while meeting compliance needs.
“Microsoft Azure is now available from our new cloud regions in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will create greater economic opportunity for organisations in Africa, accelerate new global investment, and improve access to cloud and internet services,” says Yousef Khalidi, Corporate Vice President, Azure Networking, Microsoft.
Ibrahim Youssry, General Manager, North, West, East, Central Africa, Levant & Pakistan, Microsoft said, “Today is a milestone moment in bringing the global cloud closer to home for African citizens and businesses. Enterprises across Africa can now take full advantage of the many benefits of Microsoft Azure, using cloud services to maintain security and meet compliance standards.”
According to the Cloud Africa 2018 report, cloud use among medium to large organisations in Africa has more than doubled between 2013 and 2018. Due to the benefits of cloud in offering efficiency and scalability, more than 90 percent of surveyed companies in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have plans to increase their spending on cloud computing in the next year.
However, a secure offering remains important in maintaining this momentum, with many African CEOs concerned about cyber threats.
“Microsoft has deep expertise in protecting data and empowering customers around the globe to meet extensive security and privacy requirements, including offering the broadest set of compliance certifications and attestations in the industry,” adds Khalidi. “We look forward to supporting more African enterprises in their cloud journeys and offering a trusted path to digital transformation.”

An Investment in Africa
With a network of over 10,000 local partners – and a nearly 30-year history of operating on the continent – the new data centres form part of Microsoft’s on-going investment to enable digital transformation across Africa.
In 2013, Microsoft launched its 4Afrika Initiative working with governments, partners, start-ups and youth to develop more affordable access to the Internet, 21st century skills, and locally relevant technology. Recently, this included a partnership with FirstBank Nigeria to expand cloud services and digital educational platforms to SME customers.
In Kenya, Microsoft is expanding FarmBeats, an end-to-end approach to help farmers benefit from technology. FarmBeats strives to enable data-driven farming, bringing together traditional knowledge, intuition and data to help increase farm productivity and yields.
On the skills development front, Microsoft has established a network of over 800 Microsoft Imagine Academies, offering students of various age groups direct training in the technology field. Together with the African Development Bank, Microsoft is also rolling out `Coding for Employment` to create 25 million jobs and reach 50 million youth and women across Africa.
“We’re working with partners to accelerate cloud readiness and adoption in Africa, ensuring enterprises can deliver services to market faster, businesses can make more data-driven decisions, and governments can better connect with citizens,” adds Youssry.

“As we connect more businesses to Azure, we’re seeing heightened innovation in the cloud and start-ups expanding their services to new markets. The combination of Microsoft’s global cloud infrastructure with the new regions in Africa will now connect businesses with even more opportunity and customers across the globe.”
Azure is the first of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services to be delivered from the new data centres in South Africa. Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity solution, is anticipated to be available by the third quarter of calendar year 2019, while Dynamics 365, the next generation of intelligent business applications, is anticipated in the fourth quarter.

Hot this week

13-year-old Rhema-Love Abraham Emerges Winner of 2025 Heirs Insurance Essay Championship

L:R- Funmi Olotu, National Coordinator, National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating...

Stanbic IBTC Bank, LOXEA BYD forge alliance for Electric Vehicle Financing

In a strategic move to advance Nigeria’s shift toward...

CBN, Bank of Angola Sign MoU on Technical Co-operation at IMF/World Bank Meeting

In an effort to enhance bilateral cooperation and technical...

NBS: Nigeria’s Inflation Falls to 18.02% in September, Lowest Level in Three Years

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell for the sixth consecutive...

NUPEMCO Marks 2025 CSW with Nationwide Pension Awareness Activities, Huawei-Supported National Essay competition

The Nigerian University Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO) celebrated the...

Topics

China Plans $12bn Aviation Investment in 2O16

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reported that...

MainOne, Facebook Unveil Open-access Fiber Network in Nigeria

MainOne has announced a metro fiber infrastructure project in...

Stanbic IBTC Supports Educational Institutions with School Loans

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC...

Almond Insurance Industry Award: 1,600 Votes Recorded as Voting Ends Today

Nominees in the various categories in the 2023 Almond...

NEXIM Bank to Support Growth of Mining Sector

“Solid minerals, along with the other three sectors of...

Goldlink Insurance Restructures, Appoints Egbaranas as New CEO

Goldlink Insurance Plc has announced a recent change in...

Ekiti State Residents Benefit from Fidelity Food Bank Programme

L-R: Church Administrator, St. Patrick Catholic Church, Ado-Ekiti, Reverend...

Dangote Donates N1.2bn Building to Bayero Varsity Business School

In his avowed commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship in the...
Exit mobile version