Hello,
Bolu here,
Here’s what I have for you today:
- Nigeria is expecting more data centres
- How Nigeria wants to create an electric future without electricity
- Moni becomes Rank and acquires AjoMoney and Zazzau
Nigeria will experience a data centre boom
Nigeria’s data centre industry is starting to boom. I’ve written about data centres a couple of times this year already, and I know two companies that are about to make data centre announcements soon.
The gist: A new report by Estate Intel projects that Nigeria’s total installed data centre capacity will jump from 56.1MW in 2025 to over 218MW by 2030, nearly a 4x increase in just five years.
The sector has averaged 21% annual growth since 2020, fuelled by rising demand from fintechs, cloud providers, and digital services.
Here’s why it’s a big deal: This is a big deal for a couple of reasons, but the most important are data sovereignty, cheaper cloud services, and AI. The future of technology in the country will be so interesting.
Why Nigeria’s new EV bill won’t work
The Nigerian Senate just took a big step toward electrifying transport by approving the Electric Vehicle Transition and Green Mobility Bill for a second reading.
And so? Well, the bill will force foreign auto makers to set up local assembly plants within three years, source 30% of components locally by 2030, and partner with Nigerian firms to sell EVs. There are sweeteners too; tax holidays, toll-free highways, and subsidies for EV users and makers (though no word yet on how big those incentives actually are).
Why does it matter? Nigeria would join Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia in building policy frameworks for EV adoption. But there’s one small problem: EVs are still luxury items for most Nigerians. Experts say the country should be focusing more on affordability and infrastructure instead of tightening rules for automakers.
Zoom out: While the bill aims to build a homegrown EV industry, success will depend on fixing the basics, which are stable power, charging infrastructure, and investor-friendly policies.
Sarah did a full breakdown of the bill and its impact. Read it here.
Moni rebrands with double acquisitions
Y Combinator-backed fintech Moni has a new name, Rank. The company has acquired AjoMoney and Zazzau Microfinance Bank, signalling a major shift from agent lending to a full-blown digital financial ecosystem.
The big picture: Moni started in 2021 with a clever twist on social lending; small business clusters that guarantee each other’s loans. The model worked, powering over 57,000 small business loans. But Rank wants more than repayment rates; it wants to reshape how Africans save, invest, and grow wealth.
How they’re doing it: The AjoMoney acquisition roots Rank firmly in Africa’s community savings (ajo) tradition — the rotating thrift system used by millions long before neobanks existed.
Meanwhile, the Zazzau MFB acquisition gives Rank regulatory power to accept deposits, connect to NIBSS, and offer mainstream financial services.
Rank’s pilot savings programme, backed by treasury bills and money market investments, has already paid out ₦16 billion to users, proving that ajo isn’t just for older generations. “Over 90% of AjoMoney’s users are young,” says CEO Femi Iromini, who wants to make group saving aspirational again.
In case you missed it
This startup wants to help Nigerians receive their salary daily
What I’m watching
- When Phones Were Fun – BlackBerry’s Flip (Before The Flop)
