Is Africa a data centre opportunity or challenge? Either way, it is a market that is underserved relative to demand, so it may be no surprise that a new pan-African data centre company has announced its launch this week.
Open Access Data Centres (OADC) has announced a multi-year investment programme worth more than $500 million to construct and operate a network of more than 20 carrier-neutral, Uptime Institute Tier III-accredited data centres across Africa, optimised to serve the needs of the cloud provider and wholesale community.
OADC says it will deploy data centre facilities strategically throughout the continent, focusing on key locations for connectivity in each country.
OADC is a West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) Group company. As we reported yesterday, WIOCC has announced a $200 million debt and equity capital raise which, the company says, will be used to expand its connectivity within Africa and internationally. This apparently includes planned OADC launches.
OADC has already started construction of its first two data centre facilities in Africa’s largest markets, Nigeria and South Africa. OADC Lagos will be sited on the largest data centre campus in West Africa. The Equiano submarine cable will be landing directly in this data centre.
OADC’s Durban facility is also under construction and will house the cable landing for the Durban branch of the 2Africa submarine cable. OADC says that the Durban data centre will also offer exceptional connectivity into South Africa’s terrestrial fibre network.
A third OADC facility is being deployed in Mogadishu, Somalia, housing the cable landing for the Mogadishu branch of the 2Africa submarine cable and offering a range of colocation services to domestic and international businesses. OADC Mogadishu will be open to clients before the end of 2022.
OADC promises further projects in a variety of African markets, some of which, it says, are at an advanced stage of development.