LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT IN DATA CENTRES
Funke Opeke is one of the leading voices in African data centres and a hugely inspirational figurehead for women in the regional market , as well as the wider data centre industry .
For a number of years , she has been one of the driving forces behind the development of Nigeria ’ s digital infrastructure and economy . Her company , MainOne , grew at such a fast pace with her as CEO and founder ( until her resignation in November 2024 ) that it became the leading communications services and network solutions provider in West Africa , before it was acquired by Equinix for US $ 320m in 2021 .
Funke has overseen developments such as the construction of Nigeria ’ s first privately-owned , open access , 7,000 kilometre undersea high capacity submarine cable , in addition to the country ’ s largest Tier III data centre . She has also been named one of the World ’ s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes in 2018 and one of the Top 10 Women in Data Centres in MEA by us at Data Centre Magazine .
Sparking the Nigerian internet revolution Funke grew up in Ibadan , Oyo State in Nigeria , within a family of nine . She obtained a Bachelor ’ s degree in Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria , before moving to the US and achieving a Master ’ s degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University in New York .
“ Technology was revolutionising the world , data communications was starting
to take off and I felt I had some things to learn ,” she said , speaking at the Uzemu Leadership Summit 1.0 earlier in 2024 . “ It was a difficult time in Nigeria and I had the opportunity to progress my career before I returned .”
In 2005 , she returned to her homeland of Nigeria and joined MTN Nigeria as the company ’ s Chief Technical Officer . She later founded MainOne , a leading digital infrastructure service provider in West Africa , with
32 December 2024