Okra, a Nigerian open-banking startup, has launched Nebula, a cloud service built specifically for African businesses.
Walking into the cloud infrastructure space with Nebula, Okra aims to provide a more affordable, local alternative to global giants like AWS and Microsoft Azure, tapping into the growing demand for homegrown solutions.
This development comes at a time when Nigerian companies are seeking to cut costs associated with foreign services, especially with the devaluation of the naira and rising foreign exchange pressures.
Nebula was built to allow businesses pay in local currencies like the naira, eliminating the unpredictable exchange rates associated with dollar-denominated cloud services.
The service also comes with lower latency, Tier 3 and Tier 4 data centres, and strong compliance with African data regulations. Okra’s CEO, Fara Ashiru, highlighted these features in a LinkedIn post, describing Nebula as an important tool for businesses looking to streamline operations without the burden of foreign exchange exposure.
This move into cloud infrastructure is a huge one for Okra, whose origins lie in the open-banking sector. The company has gradually evolved, discontinuing some of its earlier products as it repositions itself to tap into new revenue streams.
With the introduction of Nebula, Okra joins other Nigerian cloud providers such as Nobus and Layer3, which have also gained traction due to local companies’ growing desire to reduce their reliance on global cloud providers.
The 2019 National Cloud Computing Policy, which encourages Nigerian government agencies to use local cloud providers, has further boosted the potential for these services.
Nebula’s features include secure, scalable, and compliant infrastructure, with a focus on a developer-friendly interface and real-time billing that ensures transparency in usage and cost.
The platform offers various tools to assist businesses in deploying websites, apps, and workflows effortlessly. Its integration of local payment options is a significant selling point, making it easier for African companies to budget their cloud expenses without worrying about fluctuating foreign currencies.
Africa is looking inward for technological solutions, and Okra’s Nebula shows a growing shift towards self-sufficiency, with locally-built products designed to meet the continent’s unique needs.
This cloud service, alongside other local initiatives, seeks to provide a competitive alternative to the costly services traditionally imported from the West.
