Cloud Technology Growth in Africa

On International Data Centre Day, my hope is that the "rest of Africa" doesn't get left behind in the AI investment boom. It's critical for giving millions of Africans opportunities to progress and lead better lives. A few years back, I worked on building a data center real estate business at Agility with multiple data center ready sites in Africa and engaged with a large range of data center operators and hyperscalers. Some thoughts: 1. The lion's share of investment in data centers is (still) in South Africa and four other countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco & Egypt). The "rest of Africa" has very little data center capacity and investment - risking leaving those economies and societies behind and disadvantaged. The African continent only accounts for 0.6% of global data center capacity according to the Africa Data Centres Association. 2. Demand for capacity is expected to rise from about 0.4 GW today to 1.5 to 2.2 GW by 2030 according to McKinsey & Company research by Kartik Jayaram, Luca Bennici & colleagues. It will require $10 billion to $20 billion in new investment to unlock an estimated revenue pool of $20-30 billion across the value chain by 2030. What will be critical to unlocking that demand is the pace of AI adoption and large-scale digitalization by the public sector / governments and by enterprises, enterprise cloud adoption and consumer growth demand aggregation, investable sites, reducing the cost of capital and affordable power. 3. From my experience, multiple challenges exist to greenfield development in Africa, including land acquisition, power and fiber connectivity (problems I was working on solving) and regulatory environments. The war stories I have heard from others and seen directly show that data center development in Africa requires a different level of grit and commitment - a lot of that will come from great entrepreneurs that I have had the opportunity of knowing and learning from, including Amine K., Ayotunde (Tunde) Coker, Ike Nnamani, Ranjith Cherickel, Robert Mullins and others like Strive Masiyiwa and Funke Opeke - and hopefully any more! It's good to also see global giants like Digital Realty & Equinix also expand on the continent. --- The video clip below is a throwback to a conversation I had with Andy Davis on the Inside Data Centre Podcast a few years back - link in the comments. Africa Data Centres Association | DIGITAL COUNCIL AFRICA

If you are building AI in Africa, your biggest bottleneck isn’t the model. It’s the plumbing. In sectors like healthcare and fintech, the "standard" move is to pipe everything through US-based LLM providers. But for a hospital in Nairobi or a bank in Lagos, that’s a regulatory suicide mission and a latency nightmare. African engineering is finally solving this. I’m watching two specific moves right now: - Memcortex (Nigeria): They’ve built an open-source semantic memory layer. Instead of leaking your entire chat history to a third-party model, it filters context locally. Sensitive data stays in your VPC; only the "safe" intent goes to the cloud. - Yamify (DRC): They are spinning up local cloud clusters specifically for AI agents and automation. No more 300ms round-trips to Virginia just to run an n8n workflow. The era of "using" AI is shifting toward "owning" the infrastructure. We aren't just importing tools anymore. We’re building the gateways that make those tools safe for the continent's most sensitive industries. The infrastructure is moving to the edge. If you aren't thinking about data sovereignty today, your stack will be illegal by tomorrow. The tools are here. Build. #AI #Infrastructure #AfricaTech #cloud

Billions are flowing into South Africa’s AI and cloud infrastructure. But one question no one is asking... Will AI-driven demand outpace South Africa’s ability to build and power new capacity? The Investment Surge: Who’s Betting Big? Amazon Web Services (AWS) is making its largest-ever investment in South Africa with a $1.66 billion expansion. Microsoft is putting R5.4 billion into Azure AI infrastructure by 2027. Teraco – A Digital Realty Company is adding 40MW of new capacity with its R8 billion JB7 facility, more than twice the size of Vantage’s first-phase investment. Africa Data Centres is expanding R2 billion in colocation capacity as AI adoption accelerates. Vantage Data Centers & Attacq Limited are investing R628 million in Waterfall City. It’s a strong move—but is it enough? The Hidden Risk No One Is Talking About AI workloads require 3-4x more power than traditional cloud computing. Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is attempting to meet increased demand. Can it support the next wave of hyperscale expansion? If demand surges faster than infrastructure can scale, South Africa could face a data center bottleneck before the market matures. Energy constraints won’t just slow down AI adoption—they could determine which companies win and which ones get left behind. South Africa has the investment. It has the demand. But does it have the power to keep up? What Comes Next? The winners in this race won’t just be the biggest investors. They will be the ones who secure private energy deals before the grid becomes a bottleneck. They will align with AI-driven demand and not just build traditional hyperscale facilities. They will move beyond #Johannesburg and bet on #CapeTown and #Durban as the next AI hubs. South Africa has a window of opportunity. Will it become Africa’s AI and cloud capital—or will energy constraints hold it back? What do you think? #datacenters #AI #SouthAfrica #ifcinfrastructure

Today, Nigeria exports $4–8 billion every year —not in crude— but in data and compute. That’s why we are building an AI Native data center in Nigeria. Cloud hosting. Enterprise software. Basic workloads. Early AI usage. Paid for in USD. Run abroad. Value is created elsewhere. Here’s the opportunity ahead: Nigeria is not yet a major AI compute economy. But AI adoption is coming fast—across banks, fintechs, telcos, govtech, health, and education. That’s the moment. If Nigeria builds AI-ready, AI-native data centers now, before demand peaks, we can retain $2.5–5.5 billion annually as AI workloads inevitably scale. That means: • Data centers designed for GPUs, not retrofits • Power infrastructure built for future AI demand • Local capacity for training and inference • Skilled AI infrastructure jobs • Reduced FX pressure as usage grows • Long-term AI sovereignty Data is the raw material. Compute is the industrial base. AI-native infrastructure decides where value accumulates. Zyra Data is building ahead of the curve. Not because demand is loud today, but because it will be unavoidable tomorrow. The next trillion-naira industry won’t arrive by accident. It will be prepared for. #ZyraData #AIInfrastructure #AINativeDataCenters #FutureOfNigeria #DigitalSovereignty #ComputeEconomy #AfricanAI

Every technology giant today is interested in building data centers in Africa. It makes sense. The continent has the youngest population in the world, more than 1.4 billion people, and internet use is growing at one of the fastest rates globally. Cloud computing, fintech, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence are all demanding more local data storage. But let me tell you something. Africa currently contributes less than 1 percent of global data center capacity. According to the Africa Data Centres Association, the continent needs at least 700 new facilities by 2030 to meet demand. That is a huge gap. The biggest challenge is electricity. Data centers consume massive amounts of power. In Africa, per capita electricity consumption is still the lowest in the world, about 600 kWh per year, compared to a global average of 3,100 kWh. In some rural areas, farmers cannot even charge a phone, yet we are talking about hyperscale data centers. This is the harsh reality. But here comes the potential. Africa is sitting on some of the world’s richest renewable energy sources. The continent has 60 percent of the best solar resources globally, yet only 1 percent of installed solar capacity. Ethiopia and Kenya have significant geothermal potential, with Kenya already generating more than 40 percent of its electricity from geothermal plants. Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo hold untapped hydropower capacity that could power half the continent if fully developed. This is why Africa can leapfrog. Instead of building data centers that depend only on fossil fuels, we can design green data centers powered by solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy. The tech giants see the population, the internet growth, and the markets. But many are not fully aware of the renewable energy potential that can turn Africa into a sustainable hub for digital infrastructure. Data centers in Africa are not just about cloud storage. They are about energy innovation, youth employment, digital sovereignty, and unlocking billions in economic growth. Yes, the challenges are big. Electricity shortages are real. But the opportunities are even bigger. Africa has the power. Literally. It only needs the right investments to turn natural resources into the energy that will power the digital future.

🚨 Data traffic in Africa is doubling every 18 months. Yet over 80% of cloud services are hosted outside the continent. This is a latency risk. A sovereignty risk. A jobs risk. Telcos have the infrastructure to change that — fiber, data centers, towers. But do they have the mindset to become cloud-native platforms? Can telcos shift from selling connectivity to selling compute? To understand if telcos can become hyperscalers, let’s look at: 1. Global Precedents - China Mobile + Huawei Cloud – Successful local scale but backed by central policy. - Reliance Jio in India – Used its telecom dominance to power Jio Platforms, including cloud and AI. 2. What MTN and Others Are Doing - MTN Nigeria recently invested in new data centers and announced MTN Cloud. - Airtel is planning to launch a 38MW hyperscale data center in Lagos and is also testing edge compute nodes across East Africa. - Safaricom is building its own enterprise cloud products. 3. What Telcos Have vs. What They Need Have - - Customer base - Infrastructure (fiber, towers) - Brand recognition Need - - Developer trust - True hyperscale architecture - Cloud-native product thinking 💬 Would you trust your startup's backend to your mobile operator? The missing link? Platform thinking — telcos must go beyond "pipes" and think like AWS or Azure: platform + tools + community. 💬 Would you trust your startup's backend to your mobile operator? 📈 I explore the big bets telcos are making — the gap they must bridge; as well as our own activities at GFA Technologies in this week’s edition of Building Digital Africa. 👉 https://lnkd.in/d4J_iD3N #Infrastructure #CloudComputing #AfricanTech

Title: “The Expansion of Cloud Services in Africa: A New Era of Digital Transformation” Africa is on the brink of a technological revolution, driven by the rapid expansion of cloud services across the continent. This shift is not just about technological advancement; it's a transformative movement that promises to boost economic growth, enhance the efficiency of public services, and empower businesses with innovative solutions. Unprecedented Growth in Cloud Adoption The adoption of cloud services in Africa has seen remarkable growth in recent years. Factors such as increased internet penetration, mobile connectivity, and a young, tech-savvy population have created a fertile ground for digital services. With major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud investing in the region, local businesses and governments now have access to powerful tools that were previously out of reach. Strategic Investments and Local Data Centers Recognizing the vast potential of the African market, international cloud giants are establishing local data centers to cater to the region's needs. South Africa has been a focal point, with Microsoft and AWS opening data centers, followed by Oracle and Google announcing plans for their own facilities. These data centers not only bring state-of-the-art technology to Africa but also address significant concerns around data sovereignty and latency. The presence of local data centers is crucial. It ensures data is stored within the continent, which not only complies with local data protection laws but also significantly improves service delivery speeds. This local hosting makes cloud services more appealing to sectors where data residency is critical, such as banking and healthcare. The Role of Government and Regulatory Frameworks Government policies are also pivotal in the expansion of cloud services. African governments are increasingly aware of the benefits of digital technology for economic development. Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana are implementing policies that encourage digital innovation, including tax incentives for tech businesses, investments in broadband infrastructure, and programs to boost digital skills in the workforce. Moreover, the establishment of regulatory frameworks that protect personal and business data is enhancing trust in cloud solutions. These regulations are not only boosting consumer and business confidence but are also attracting foreign investments in the tech sector. The economic implications of cloud service expansion in Africa are profound. Cloud computing offers businesses reduced IT costs, scalability, and flexibility, enabling them to compete on a global scale. Furthermore, cloud services are a catalyst for innovation, providing developers and entrepreneurs with the tools to create solutions tailored to local needs and challenges.

South Africa dominates Africa’s data centre landscape, hosting 41 facilities , nearly triple Nigeria’s 15 and well ahead of Kenya’s 16. Yet the bigger story is not who leads, but how far behind the entire continent still is. With fewer than 200 data centres in all of Africa, a massive share of the continent’s digital data continues to be stored outside its borders. That imbalance is a strategic weakness, not just a technical gap. When African data is hosted overseas, the continent exports value while importing dependency. Local businesses face higher latency, higher costs, and weaker control over performance. Governments lose leverage over data governance, security standards, and digital sovereignty. In practical terms, Africa is building digital services on infrastructure it does not own. South Africa’s lead shows what early investment, stronger power infrastructure, and clearer regulatory environments can achieve. But one country carrying the load for an entire continent of 1.4+ billion people is not leadership — it’s a bottleneck. Nigeria and Kenya’s numbers, while second and third, are still tiny relative to their population size, startup ecosystems, and data consumption growth. The result is a paradox: Africa is one of the fastest-growing digital markets, but its core infrastructure footprint remains structurally underbuilt. Cloud adoption, fintech expansion, AI deployment, streaming, e-commerce ,all of these generate data locally, yet the economic and strategic value of storing and processing that data often leaves the continent. Until more countries invest seriously in local data centre ecosystems ,power reliability, fiber networks, cooling solutions, regulatory clarity, and investor protection ;Africa’s digital economy will keep scaling on rented ground.

HEIRS TECHNOLOGIES AFRICA DIGITAL REPORT Africa is home to nearly 20% of the world’s population, yet we account for less than 1% of global data centre capacity. This imbalance underscores both our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity. By 2030, Africa’s digital economy could add up to $2.9 trillion to GDP. The question is no longer if digital transformation will occur, but how we can unlock its full potential. The findings in Heirs Technologies Africa’s Digital Leap Report highlight the urgency of massive and sustained investment in digital infrastructure. Such investment is not optional; it is foundational to enabling economic growth, competitiveness, and resilience. Africa’s youthful population is already reshaping industries, from agriculture to manufacturing to technology. The rise of African AI startups, which have attracted $1.25 billion in funding to date, signals growing investor confidence in our markets. But to sustain momentum, Africa must strengthen its business environment, create investor-friendly policies, and build the infrastructure needed to support scale. This is a pivotal moment. We must act not as passive participants in the global digital economy, but as strategic architects of Africa’s digital future. I commend our team at Heirs Technologies and CEO Obong Idiong, for producing this timely report, which provides actionable insights and strategies for advancing Africa’s digital journey — anchored on cloud, connectivity, and AI. I encourage policymakers, private sector leaders, and international partners to study this report carefully: https://lnkd.in/dnXT6tG8 #TOEWay

🚀 Leveraging Cloud Technologies to Power Africa’s Digital Future 🚀 This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Mori, CEO and co-founder of Deimos, Africa’s leading cloud technology and professional services company. Deimos helps forward-thinking African firms leverage technology best practices while tapping into the continent’s rich engineering talent. 💻🌍 Andrew has an impressive scientific background, with advanced degrees in Physics and experience as a research scientist, skills he has successfully transitioned into the private sector and combined with a talent for building effective engineering teams. His mission is clear: to embed software engineering best practices at the heart of decision-making processes, with the ultimate goal of putting Africa ‘on the map’ in terms of engineering talent. 🎓🌟 The idea for Deimos was born during Andrew’s time at a high-growth startup in Nigeria, where he realised the untapped potential and misunderstood capabilities of Africa’s growing tech ecosystem in terms of technical skills and potential. 🌍💡 The phenomenon of ‘nearshoring’ typically sees global firms locate tech talent in emerging markets such as LatAm, India, and Eastern Europe, whereas, he tells me, “A lot of global companies are unaware of the enormous opportunity there is in Africa from that perspective.” At the same time, he noticed a trend of rapid, unsustainable growth driven by ambitious founders and investors in the region, which undermined long-term success and best practices. 🌐🚀 By addressing these challenges, Deimos has become a key player in Africa's digital revolution. Since its launch in 2018, the company has led the charge in cloud innovation, recently earning recognition as Africa’s fastest-growing IT and Software company by the Financial Times! 🌍💡 🎙️ Tune in to hear Andrew’s insights on: ✅ The current state and future of cloud technology in Africa. ✅ How the cloud landscape in Nigeria and South Africa has evolved. ✅ The importance of expanding cloud regions for Africa’s digital transformation. ✅ The vital role of cloud access for AI development on the continent. ✅ How African governments and private investors can boost cloud infrastructure. If you're interested in the future of technology in Africa and want to learn how Deimos is leading the charge, this episode is a must-listen. 🎧🌍 Thank you to Andrew for joining me on the Unlocking Africa Podcast. To listen to the podcast just click the link in the comments below. 🔗🎙️ #Podcast #CloudTechnology #AfricaTech #Deimos #DigitalTransformation #AI #CloudInfrastructure