Carrier-neutral co-location data centre provide Africa Data Centres has unveiled what it call the continent’s largest-ever data centre expansion plan.
Ten interconnected, cloud and carrier-neutral data centres will be built across the length and breadth of the continent in what the company calls a $500 million investment in Africa’s digital future.
This isn’t just a sub-Saharan play. The large hyperscale data centres will be built throughout Africa, including Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt in North Africa.
The project will involve building ten hyperscale data centres in ten countries over the next two years. The cost of more than $500 million is being funded through new equity and facilities from leading development finance institutions and multilateral organisations.
Africa Data Centres CEO Stephane Duproz explains that the finance for the roll-out has been provided by equity and loans to Africa Data Centres’ parent company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, to fully fund the expansion.
The company says it has already begun to acquire land in the countries involved and plans to roll out very quickly. The expansion will more than double Africa Data Centres’ already significant footprint on the continent.
Africa Data Centres says its investment is a reflection of – as well as a catalyst for – the continued direct foreign investment into the continent and the positive growth of local organisations.
Duproz says industries especially likely to be buoyed by Africa Data Centres’ expansion are the banking and fintech sectors, insurance and medical organisations, the public sector, hyperscale cloud providers and content providers.
These industries, he says, are highly sensitive to data speed, security and guaranteed uptime and are exacting when it comes to reliability and trust in their providers. The SME market too, he says, has found a significant opportunity for growth by plugging into the digital ecosystems that data centres provide.
He also highlights a commitment to sustainable, clean builds. The company says it invest heavily in innovative grey water systems, waste disposal and renewable energy sources.