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> She would pay AWS in dollars even as Okra earned in naira because American cloud providers did not accept payments in local currency at the time. > The payme

> She would pay AWS in dollars even as Okra earned in naira because American cloud providers did not accept payments in local currency at the time. > The payments to AWS gradually skyrocketed as the naira depreciated around 70% against the dollar between 2020 and 2024. > Combine that with Nigeria’s economic challenges — rising inflation and forex volatility > Ashiru took things into her own hands, and Okra set up cloud infrastructure with servers in data centers in Nigeria and South Africa in 2024 But the servers will also be priced in a more stable currency than the naira, so I'm not sure what the win is. I also googled "nigeria electric grid" to learn if they'd see how much pricing would be driven by inflation, but before I got there, saw that the national grid had 12 collapses in 2024. Generators and fuel are also priced in more stable currencies. The data sovereignty argument is interesting. I know there are EU companies that only use EU data centers. We might see (if it's not already a thing) AWS have a nominally independent EU subsidiary that can ignore US regulators.

BoardsOfCanada 2y ago
12 collapses seems incredibly generous, I don't think I ever had fewer than five blackouts in a day for the few months that I stayed there. Maybe it's better for data centers than hotels but I really don't believe that there's a big difference.
- OJFord 2y ago
  Maybe 'the national grid' versus lots of local substations, i.e. all hotels might see 5 a day, but not necessarily at the same times.
Etheryte 2y ago
The AWS bill comes once a month whereas you buy servers maybe once a year or w/e and then you own them. This alone means that buying servers hedges you against inflation at least to some degree. If inflation is around 20% a year, those savings could be considerable.
baranul 2y ago
The data sovereignty argument is likely more than just interesting, but can be essential to their startups surviving in the future. Who can look at and do what with the data, can be the difference between a country or region keeping a thriving infrastructure or having to outsource an entire related chain to somewhere else that can dictate terms or not be in their best interest. Just as EU companies have the option of using only EU data centers, African countries can make the same argument for equivalent options, where AU companies (African Union) do the same.
t0mas88 2y ago
That last part has been announced, but not released yet. Amazon calls is AWS European Sovereign Cloud, see here for details: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-plans-to-invest-e7-8b-into-the-aws-european-sovereign-cloud-set-to-launch-by-the-end-of-2025/ https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-plans-to-invest-e7...

BoardsOfCanada 2y ago

12 collapses seems incredibly generous, I don't think I ever had fewer than five blackouts in a day for the few months that I stayed there. Maybe it's better for data centers than hotels but I really don't believe that there's a big difference.

OJFord 2y ago
Maybe 'the national grid' versus lots of local substations, i.e. all hotels might see 5 a day, but not necessarily at the same times.

Etheryte 2y ago

The AWS bill comes once a month whereas you buy servers maybe once a year or w/e and then you own them. This alone means that buying servers hedges you against inflation at least to some degree. If inflation is around 20% a year, those savings could be considerable.

baranul 2y ago

The data sovereignty argument is likely more than just interesting, but can be essential to their startups surviving in the future. Who can look at and do what with the data, can be the difference between a country or region keeping a thriving infrastructure or having to outsource an entire related chain to somewhere else that can dictate terms or not be in their best interest. Just as EU companies have the option of using only EU data centers, African countries can make the same argument for equivalent options, where AU companies (African Union) do the same.

t0mas88 2y ago

That last part has been announced, but not released yet. Amazon calls is AWS European Sovereign Cloud, see here for details: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-plans-to-invest-e7-8b-into-the-aws-european-sovereign-cloud-set-to-launch-by-the-end-of-2025/ https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/aws-plans-to-invest-e7...