Unitellas Edge Cloud Strengthens Data Domestication in Nigeria

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Unitellas Edge Cloud,Smith Osemeke has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Nigeria’s data domestication and sovereignty policy, stressing that Unitellas is investing heavily to ensure local hosting of critical data.

Speaking in an interview with Journalist at GITEX Nigeria 2025 in Lagos, Osemeke explained that Unitellas, a homegrown cloud company operating for the past seven years, has been focused on ensuring that sensitive national and corporate data remain within Nigeria’s borders. According to him, this aligns with the federal government’s drive to enforce data domestication and safeguard digital sovereignty.

He noted that many organisations in the country previously relied on foreign cloud providers due to high infrastructure costs, but this often left their data vulnerable and outside their control.

“What we have done is to bring those cloud servers into Nigeria so that data is stored locally,” Osemeke said.

The Unitellas CEO acknowledged that one of the major challenges faced over the years has been a lack of trust in local providers, following past failures by some companies. However, he said Unitellas has built credibility through proof-of-concept projects that allow organisations to test services before committing. This approach, he revealed, has won over several large enterprises, including federal government agencies, banks, oil and gas companies, fintech firms, and academic institutions.

On security concerns, Osemeke explained that Unitellas provides robust infrastructure management while allowing clients to choose whether to add their own layers of data security. “If they want us to solely secure the data for them, we have all it takes to do that,” he added.

He further highlighted that local cloud hosting not only enhances national security but also saves costs for organisations compared to the continuous cycle of purchasing and refreshing physical servers.

With Nigeria pushing toward greater data sovereignty, Unitellas Edge Cloud positions itself as a critical player in the country’s digital transformation journey.