Niger is looking to digital transformation as a key driver for its socioeconomic growth. To achieve this, the government is committed to modernizing and strengthening its national telecommunications infrastructure.

Construction of Niger's national data center has reached 13% completion and is on track for completion by September 30. The nine billion CFA Francs (approximately $14.3 million) project, was discussed last week by the Minister of Communication, Posts, and Digital Economy, Sidi Mohamed Raliou, during a televised address reviewing his ministry’s work.

While the minister did not disclose specific details about the facility's capacity and technical features, he confirmed the data center will be Tier 3, based on Uptime Institute standards. This classification ensures multiple power and cooling pathways, minimizing downtime to 1.6 hours per year. The facility will store and secure public data in Niger.

The data center is expected to strengthen Niger's digital infrastructure, a key step in the country's digital transformation efforts.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Niger scores 0.1578 out of 1 on the telecom infrastructure index, a component of the E-Government Development Index (EGDI). Niger's overall EGDI score is 0.2116, ranking 187th out of 193 countries. This is below the averages for West Africa (0.3957), Africa (0.4247), and the global average (0.6382).

In addition to the data center, Niger must expand telecom coverage and increase adoption of digital technologies. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates 3G and 4G networks cover 24% and 17.5% of the population, respectively, compared to 92% for 2G. DataReportal figures show Niger had 4.69 million internet subscribers at the beginning of 2024, with a penetration rate of 16.9%. Mobile phone penetration was 59.4%.

By Isaac K. Kassouwi,

Editing by Feriol Bewa