Nigerian fintech startup Okra launched a new cloud infrastructure service that is the latest of several startups in the country that aim to provide a local alternative to cloud giants like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
According to a post on LinkedIn, Okra’s “Nebula” is an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering built on Tier 3 and Tier 4 data centres. Okra said the service offers low latency and reliability “on par with global players like AWS and Azure” with less than two hours downtime a year.
Okra also said Nebula is specifically designed to comply with local data residency laws.
However, the biggest selling point is that Nebula customers can pay in naira or other local currencies “for predictable and more affordable rates.”
That’s a key provision for companies in Nigeria (as well as other countries in Africa) where currency devaluation and fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates often have a serious impact on the bottom line. Foreign cloud providers typically charge only in US dollars.
Okra CEO Fara Ashiru said in the LinkedIn post that Nebula presents a viable and cost-effective alternative to AWS and Azure, who currently dominate Nigeria’s cloud market.
“For too long, Africa has leaned on imported solutions, paying premiums for software and services – but as we say, ‘Yes, there is rice at home!’,” she said. “And now, there's a cloud built here, for us, and it's just as good – if not better.”
Ashiru added that Okra’s own infrastructure is already using Nebula. “The first round of access is already with our incredible partners. The next round opens soon.”
Okra first announced plans for Nebula in July after securing US$16.5 million in funding and the backing of VC firm TLcom. Okra got its start offering open APIs for banks and financial service providers to access customer data, but decided to shift its focus to cloud infrastructure as the open-banking market was too small and competitive, according to African investment firm Daba.
Okra also faces healthy competition in Nigeria’s cloud market from startups like Nobus, Galaxy and Layer3, all of whom are also positioning themselves as an alternative to AWS and Azure and offering payment in local currencies.