Conrad Onyango, bird story agency

African telcos are racing to construct green-powered data centres as the continent's appetite for digital services grows, fueled by the world's largest youth population.

Already the continent is a pioneer and outperformer in mobile money, headlined by Kenya’s M-Pesa and other mobile payment services, with 60% of the population accessing the internet via mobile. 

By 2025, 167 million more people from Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to be subscribed to mobile services, reaching 623 million users, and smartphone connections in the region are also seen  more than doubling.

According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Africa’s Internet economy has the potential to reach 5.2% of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, contributing nearly US $180 billion to its economy.

Major telcos on the continent are responding to this demand opportunity - supported by moves to take education, health care, agriculture services and governance online - by lining up data center projects they say will be among the largest and greenest on the continent.

In its 2024 sustainability report, Kenya’s giant telco, Safaricom has outlined  plans to construct three  Tier 3+ scale data centers, as part of  its long-term strategy to transform from a telecommunications company to Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company, by 2030.

The company's Limuru Data Centers Phase 1 is already operational, with Phase 2 planned to come on stream by 2025.

“The facility is designed for future growth, with the potential to support 1,000 high density racks and an IT load of up to 20 MW within the next decade,” said Safaricom in the report.

The strategic location of the data center in the cooler Limuru region, the  telco said, will enable it to deliver a Power Utilisation Effectiveness of 1.35, making it one of the most energy-efficient facilities in Africa. 

“The facility is equipped with a 200 kWp rooftop solar PV plant, with plans to scale up to 2MWp. Additionally, we are exploring partnerships with renewable energy producers to further enhance our commitment to sustainability,” according to the sustainability report.

In June, MTN Nigeria announced it was building a 1,500-rack, Tier 4 data centre to play a pivotal role in meeting the growing data demands and digital needs of businesses and consumers in the country.

In a LinkedIn post, MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Olutokun Toriola said the facility will be the largest in West Africa upon completion and will enable the telco  to respond swiftly to market demands and support businesses in Nigeria.

“Ultimately, this center will play a vital role in supporting Nigerian businesses to collaborate through cloud services, expand their capabilities, and thrive,” said Toriola.

”Our commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles is reflected in the data center's eco-friendly design to utilize efficient cooling systems and a combination of traditional energy sources, gas, and renewable energy,” he added.

After launching a multi-million data centre business, Nxtra by Airtel, in December 2023  the telco broke ground in March to what it termed as one of Africa’s largest data centres in Lagos, Nigeria- with plans for more across the continent.

“Through this business we aim to create one of the largest networks of data centres in Africa with high-capacity facilities in major cities complementing our existing sites. We’re taking great care to incorporate modern energy efficiencies into our operations,”  said Airtel Africa’s Sustainability Report 2024.

Africa Data Centers Association also affirms the expansion of  industry  due to the increasing demand for such facilities throughout the continent-citing Kenya, Morocco and South Africa as fast-growing markets- abeit with a huge infrastructure gap to fill in. 

“Africa needs up to 1000 MW and 700 facilities to meet demand and bring capacity density on a par with that of South Africa, the region’s leader,” according to Data Centers in Africa focus report 2024.

Africa, the report shows accounted for less than 2% of global colocation Data Centers supply, with over half that total located in South Africa. 

“The development of data centres is picking up pace due to strong demand from economic operators, as well as increasing awareness that African countries must establish their digital sovereignty in an increasingly competitive and complex world,” said Ayotunde Coker, Chairman, Africa Data Centres Association.

Nigeria is listed in the data centers focus report as Africa’s largest digital economy with the internet contributing US$36.5 billion to its GDP, followed by South Africa(US$31.5 billion) and Egypt (US$26 billion).

Other large digital economies include Morocco(US$21.1 billion), Kenya(US$12.8 billion),  and Algeria (US$11.9 billion).

Allied Market Research projects that the global market for DC provision will reach US$517.2 billion by 2030, up from an estimated of US$187.4 billion in 2020. 

bird story agency

Useful links for editors: 

https://africadca.org/en/data-centres-in-africa-focus-report-2024

https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2020/google-e-conomy

https://airtel.africa/#/pages/responsibility?tab=sustainability_frame-work

https://www.safaricom.co.ke/about/sustainability/sustainable-business-reports