CBN data localisation mandate creates AI-driven opportunities for legacy IT firms like Inlaks
CBN's June 15, 2026 directive requiring all Nigeria-generated payment data to be stored locally by January 1, 2027 is creating urgent demand for legacy IT firms to prepare enterprise data for AI adoption. As Charles Ifedi of Inlaks explains, AI projects fail 85% of the time due to poor data quality and fragmentation—making legacy firms indispensable for cleaning data schemas, validating records, and building secure pipelines that prevent AI hallucinations or leaks.
This combines with AI's limitations in handling sensitive enterprise integration due to trust and security concerns, positioning firms like Inlaks as essential for the 'data layer' preparation banks need before deploying LLMs into decades-old core systems. The mandate also drives data centre growth—Nigeria's market valued at $322.65 million in 2025, projected to reach $783 million by 2031—though power costs remain a challenge solved through micro-grid engineering (e.g., solarising data centres cut energy costs by 79% for one bank).
Legacy firms are pivoting from hardware sales to service-led models, embedding proprietary AI into banking suites for local-language voice banking and intelligent chat workflows to deepen financial inclusion. With data readiness, stablecoins, and embedded finance identified as Africa's fintech frontiers, will you leverage this shift to partner with local IT providers for compliant AI adoption, or risk costly delays by overlooking the data preparation bottleneck?