Equity Bank Uganda Migrates Core Banking Data to Raxio Namanve Data Center to Meet Bank of Uganda Rules
Equity Bank Uganda has migrated its core data center operations to the Raxio Data Center in Namanve, relocating its core banking systems from Kenya in a move aimed at complying with local data sovereignty requirements.
The weekend transition shifted the bank’s primary banking data, including its Finacle database, into Uganda, aligning its infrastructure with directives from the Bank of Uganda that require supervised financial institutions to store customer data within the country.
The migration began at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026, and concluded on Sunday, February 8, 2026, after an approximately 22-hour systems transition window. Equity Bank said customer funds, account details and login credentials remained secure and unchanged during the process.
Regulatory Pressure to Localize
Uganda’s regulatory framework has increasingly emphasized in-country data hosting for banks and payment providers. The Bank of Uganda has directed commercial lenders to establish primary data centers and disaster recovery sites within national borders to safeguard business continuity.
The central bank’s position is designed to prevent a scenario in which a technical failure, cyber incident or geopolitical disruption in another jurisdiction could impair operations of Ugandan subsidiaries.
By hosting systems locally, the regulator is also able to conduct physical audits and enforce technology risk management standards that took effect in December 2024.
Under the National Payment Systems Act, the central bank has oversight over payment service providers and transaction systems, requiring that records be accessible for monitoring and inspection.
Entities participating in the regulator’s sandbox framework must similarly maintain records in locations accessible to the central bank.
The Data Protection and Privacy Act further shapes compliance decisions. While it does not prohibit cross-border storage outright, it restricts transfers of personal data unless the receiving jurisdiction has equivalent safeguards and customers provide express consent.
For banks, local hosting reduces the legal and supervisory risks tied to offshore storage.
Why Raxio
Equity Bank selected Raxio’s Uganda facility, located in the Namanve Industrial and Business Park, the country’s first Tier III-certified and carrier-neutral data center.
Opened in 2021, the site offers 1,000 square meters of white space and capacity for up to 400 racks, with 1.5 megawatts of IT power at full build-out. As a Tier III facility, it is designed to deliver 99.982% uptime, supported by fully redundant power systems and N+1 cooling architecture to reduce single points of failure.
The center also hosts the Uganda Internet Exchange Point, allowing domestic networks to exchange traffic locally. For financial institutions, this can lower latency and improve transaction speeds for customers within the country.
Raxio’s carrier-neutral model enables clients to connect through multiple telecom providers rather than being tied to a single operator.
Jefferson Wachira is a writer at Africa Digest News, specializing in banking and finance trends, and their impact on African economies.
