News Highlights:
- NITDA and Galaxy Backbone have partnered to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services to iHatch startups, boosting local innovation and digital sovereignty.
- The initiative offers secure local cloud infrastructure, Naira-based billing, and structured support to help Nigerian startups scale competitively.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has strengthened Nigeria’s startup ecosystem through a strategic partnership with Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services for startups participating in the iHatch programme.
In a press release signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations at NITDA, the agency said the collaboration, facilitated through the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), represents a significant milestone in advancing Nigeria’s digital economy by promoting data sovereignty, digital inclusion, and indigenous innovation.
Under the arrangement, startups enrolled in the iHatch programme will be onboarded onto the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), a sovereign cloud infrastructure backed by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, an extensive nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity systems.
Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the partnership aligns with the agency’s broader vision of building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem by ensuring emerging businesses have access to critical digital infrastructure.
According to him, providing startups with reliable cloud resources will not only reduce operational costs but also empower innovators to develop scalable solutions that can compete on the global stage.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the initiative would enable startups to access secure, enterprise-grade cloud services at highly subsidised rates while hosting their data locally.
He noted that this approach would strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign-hosted infrastructure.
To ensure long-term sustainability, Galaxy Backbone will implement a tiered, milestone-based model that releases cloud credits to startups through the “Build, Validate, and Scale” phases of their development journey.
The credits will remain valid for 12 months, after which participating startups will migrate to either standard or pay-as-you-go billing structures.
As part of the support framework, Galaxy Backbone will also deploy a dedicated Startup Success Team to drive adoption, while automated usage monitoring systems will help optimise resource consumption.
Importantly, all post-credit billing will be denominated in Nigerian Naira, shielding startups from the risks associated with foreign exchange fluctuations.
General Manager of Strategic Partnerships at Galaxy Backbone, Abdul Malik Suleiman, described the initiative as a strategic intervention aimed at closing the gap between infrastructure availability and innovation growth.
National Coordinator of ONDI, Victoria Fabunmi, added that integrating sovereign cloud services into the iHatch programme would significantly improve the capacity of startups to scale efficiently while equipping them with the right digital tools to compete internationally.
The iHatch programme has already trained over 160 startups through 37 hub partners nationwide, and the new partnership is expected to further accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable digital growth across Nigeria.