Kasi Cloud and Metrowaves sports, two firms backed to the tune of millions of dollars by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), that manages Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), are facing project delays and low transparency on use of funds.
In June 2018, the NSIA approved a $20 million equity investment in Metrowaves Sports and Infrastructures Limited through its subsidiary, NSIA Property Investment Company Ltd. (NPIC), to support the development of a 10,000-seater multipurpose Arena in Lagos state.
Metrowaves Sports and Infrastructures Limited is a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with RC 1542440 and mainly backed by MBO Capital a boutique investment firm based in Lagos.
In addition to its equity investment, the NSIA also extended loans to Metrowaves Sports with an outstanding balance of N6.16 billion as at December 2024, according to financials seen by MoneyCentral.
“Metrowaves Sports and Infra. Ltd loans are a N4.105 billion arena loan, granted in June 2021 with annual interest rate of 12% and will mature on 18th June 2028,” the NSIA said in notes accompanying its 2024 financials.
The NSIA describes the Metrowaves Sports project in which it has made an equity investment of taxpayer funds to the tune of N32 billion ($20 million) as involving the development of a 10,000-seater Arena, offering a dedicated space for sporting events, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, and other events.
The project is said to be developed on land plots totalling approximately 25,266.46 SQM in the Lekki area of Lagos. The total project is to cost N42 billion and the NSIA has a 40.5% stake, with a carrying amount of the investment put at N21.69 billion as at December 2024.
MoneyCentral struggled to find any major benefit to the nation from the NSIAs investment of $20 million in this entertainment arena project. Delivery timelines are unclear, while the recent naira devaluation has led to an increase in costs for domestic real estate projects.
MoneyCentral could not find any website for Metrowaves Sports & Infra Limited, detailing the current scope of work done and the take-off date.
Finally, investing in a sports and conference facility in Lagos which already has many similar alternatives as opposed to toll roads, bridges and other social infrastructure such as healthcare or education looks like a sub-optimal deployment of scarce capital.
Kasi Cloud Limited, is a Nigerian company that says it is focused on building hyperscale data centers to support digital infrastructure across Africa.
Kasi broke ground on its first data center campus in Lekki, Lagos, on April 19, 2022, with a planned $250 million investment across 4 hectares of land in the Maiyegun area (various sources). This campus, dubbed LOS1, is the first of several planned facilities, with additional campuses in Eket, Akwa Ibom (DNEK1 and DNEK2).
Construction began in 2022, but no public updates confirm completion of LOS1 or DNEK campuses by mid-2025. The 2022 groundbreaking included high-profile attendees like Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, but progress reports are unavailable, suggesting delays.
Three years later the data centre LOS1 is not operational and there is no timeline for its completion, while the section on its website detailing news updates about the project was last updated in April 2022.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is a key investor in Kasi Cloud. It has a US$200 million Innovation Fund to catalyze the technology ecosystem in Nigeria, with a seed commitment of US$25 million. The Authority’s pioneer investment in the technology sector was developing the 20MW hyperscale data center by Kasi Cloud Limited in Lekki, Lagos.
The NSIA in 2024 2024, invested additional equity of $6million in Kasi Cloud Limited. The equity investment is valued at N9.576 billion on its books.
In addition to the equity investment there is a further loan extended by the NSIA to Kasi Cloud of $10million project finance ($2million addition in 2024) hinged on interest rate of 7.5%+ 6month SOFR as contracted by NSIA Property Investment Company Ltd. (a subsidiary to the Authority), which commenced in April 2022 and will mature on April 2029.
This also includes fresh disbursement of N1.25 billion loan to Kasi Cloud Limited availed in Sept-24 but contracted to be paid down by Aug-2031.
In addition, the Authority (NSIA) had a 10%- N3.86 billion working capital Loan to Kasi Cloud in Oct-23, collateralised with a deposit of $5million and this was expected to mature on 15th October 2025.
Total NSIA loan exposure to Kasi Cloud is equivalent to N25.7 billion according to its financials, with equity investment at N9.576 billion, it puts total exposure at N35.27 billion.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), managers of the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) had N4.42 trillion ($2.76 billion) asset6s under management as of December 2024.
Nigeria, Africa largest oil producer, established the NSIA in 2011 to invest and manage excess funds earned from crude sales. It seeded the fund with an initial $1 billion when it began operations and has provided an additional $971 million in several installments since then.
The NSIA while a very important entity seems very far removed from the lives of the everyday Nigerian as these million dollar investments with little updates and clarity on delivery timelines and impact on jobs for Nigerians show.
