GBB Partners ONDI to Deliver Subsidised Sovereign Cloud Services for Nigerian Startups

Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) , Nigeria’s leading ICT infrastructure and shared services provider, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI),  a unit under the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) , to provide subsidised sovereign cloud services to startups under the iHatch programme.

The collaboration is aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s digital innovation ecosystem by giving participating startups access to the Galaxy Cloud Platform (GxCP), GBB’s sovereign cloud infrastructure. The platform is supported by Tier III and Tier IV Uptime-certified data centres, a nationwide fibre network, and advanced cybersecurity systems.

According to the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the initiative reflects the agency’s commitment to building a resilient and globally competitive startup ecosystem through access to critical digital infrastructure.

The Managing Director and CEO of GBB, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the programme will enable startups to access secure, enterprise-grade cloud services at subsidised rates, allowing them to build and scale while keeping their data hosted locally in Nigeria. He added that this strengthens Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and economic resilience.

GBB will implement a tiered, milestone-based support model in which startups receive cloud credits across three stages—Build, Validate, and Scale. The credits will be valid for 12 months, after which startups will transition to standard subscription or pay-as-you-go billing.

To support adoption, GBB will also deploy a dedicated Startup Success Team to assist with onboarding and usage optimisation. In addition, automated monitoring and alerts will help startups manage resources efficiently, while post-credit billing will be conducted in Nigerian Naira to reduce exposure to foreign exchange volatility.

Abdul Malik Suleiman, General Manager for Strategic Partnerships at GBB, said the collaboration bridges the gap between infrastructure and innovation by improving access to world-class cloud services for Nigerian startups.

ONDI National Coordinator, Victoria Fabunmi, added that integrating GBB’s sovereign cloud into the iHatch programme will strengthen startups’ ability to move from ideation to scale while equipping them to compete locally and globally.

The iHatch programme, supported by NITDA through ONDI, has already trained more than 160 startups across 37 hubs nationwide. The new partnership is expected to further accelerate innovation and deepen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem development.