The National Information Technology Development Agency, through the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, and Galaxy Backbone Limited have announced a strategic partnership to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services to startups participating in the iHatch programme.
This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s digital transformation journey, reinforcing national priorities around data sovereignty, digital inclusion, and the growth of indigenous innovation.
Under the partnership, startups enrolled in the iHatch programme will be onboarded onto the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), a sovereign cloud infrastructure supported by Uptime-certified Tier III and Tier IV data centres, a nationwide fibre optic network, and advanced cybersecurity systems.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director general of NITDA, stated that the initiative underscores the Agency’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem by providing access to critical digital infrastructure.
Similarly, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, the managing director/chief executive officer of GBB, emphasised that the partnership is designed to empower startups with secure, enterprise-grade cloud services at highly subsidised rates.
He noted that the initiative enables startups to host their data locally, thereby strengthening Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and economic resilience.
To ensure sustainability and long-term impact, GBB will implement a tiered, milestone-based support model in which cloud credits are released across key phases of a startup’s growth journey; Build, Validate, and Scale.
These credits will be valid for 12 months, after which startups will transition to standard subscription or pay-as-you-go billing models.
As part of the initiative, GBB will deploy a dedicated Startup Success Team to support onboarding and drive adoption.
Startups will also benefit from automated usage monitoring and alerts to ensure optimal utilisation of resources. Importantly, all post-credit billing will be conducted in Nigerian Naira, shielding startups from foreign exchange volatility and enhancing financial predictability.
Commenting on the broader significance of the partnership, Abdul Malik Suleiman, General Manager, Strategic Partnerships at GBB, described the collaboration as a deliberate effort to bridge the gap between infrastructure and innovation by making world-class cloud services more accessible to Nigerian startups.
Also speaking, Victoria Fabunmi, the national coordinator of ONDI, noted that integrating GBB’s sovereign cloud infrastructure into the iHatch programme significantly enhances the ability of startups to move from ideation to scale, while equipping them with the right tools to compete both locally and globally.
According to the joint statement signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, director, Corporate Communications & Media Relations, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Chidi Okpala, head, Corporate Communications, Galaxy Backbone Limited, the iHatch programme, an initiative supported by NITDA through ONDI, has already trained over 160 startups across 37 hub partners nationwide.
This partnership is expected to deepen that impact by accelerating innovation, enabling scale, and strengthening Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
