Transforming Africa’s Data Centre Infrastructure

With the meagre 400 Megawatts (MW) capacity generated in the whole of Africa, stakeholders and operators of data centres are pushing for increased capacity of electricity that will enable data centres across Africa operate optimally, writes Emma Okonji

The Hyperscalers Convergence Africa conference, which held in Lagos last week with the theme: “The Power of Convergence,” brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to address Africa’s digital infrastructure challenges, especially in the area of power generation and distribution.

The conference highlighted the need for a unified strategy to accelerate the continent’s digital transformation.

Stakeholders stressed the importance of integrating various digital infrastructure components, insisting that subsea cables, tower companies, fiber networks, and satellite internet are all critical elements. According to them, without convergence, these elements remain disconnected, hindering Africa’s ability to fully leverage digital technology.

The conference featured over six panel sessions with key stakeholders from across Africa, tackling specific challenges to the continent’s digital progress. Key issues discussed included power shortages, high energy costs, and limited access to renewable energy sources—significant obstacles for data centers and telecommunications operations. The lack of robust middle-mile infrastructure was also identified as a barrier to efficient data traffic distribution.

Africa’s Challenges

Chairman of the conference, and CEO, Precise Financial Services, Dr. Yele Okeremi, in his opening remarks, said given the population of Africa, which is 18 per cent of the world population, the African continent stood at a critical juncture in the global digital evolution, because the 18 per cent accounts for a mere 0.02 per cent of the global fiber optic infrastructure and less than one per cent of the world’s 40 Gigawatts data centre capacity.

According to Okeremi, “The situation of Africa’s infrastructure development is really bad. It’s a big challenge, despite the progress made by companies and individuals that have invested heavily in technology since the 1990s when the first generation of Nigerian technology companies were just talking about that.

“Africa boasts of just over a million kilometers of fiber network with limited data centre capacity, which is in contrast to the rapidly advancing digital landscape in other parts of the world. The importance of a robust digital infrastructure cannot be overstated. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is not only a significant contributor to Africa’s GDP, but also a fundamental enabler of all the political factors from agriculture to healthcare, to education, among others.”

Convener of the conference, Temitope Osunrinde, who gave a general perspective of the slow digital development in Africa, said: “At this juncture, we’re not doing well as a country and as a continent. If you look across the broad fundamentals of the digital economy, and the metrics that drive digital economy, like fiber cable deployment and data centre operations, you will discover that we’re not doing well, and there is a mismatch.

“Nigeria as a country in Africa, for instance, has huge submarine cable capacity at the shores of the country, through the landing of several submarine cables in the country, but we have a big issue of transmitting the capacities to the hinterlands to boost data centre operations.”

According to him, power and cooling are the biggest issues for data centre operators in Nigeria and Africa, adding that the target of 2,500 Megawatts for data centre operators in Africa will be an ideal thing, compared to the 400 Megawatts that the entire Africa currently generates.

Africa’s Solution

Conference participants explored solutions such as collaborative partnerships between governments, private sector companies, and international organiations. Managing Director of Bayobab, Josephine Sarouk, who spoke at the conference, emphasised the need for supportive policy frameworks that foster competition, innovation, and affordability. She urged government officials and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, to focus on fostering partnerships, bringing stakeholders together, and creating an enabling environment for investors, despite the complexities of aligning interests across 54 countries.

The potential of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies were also discussed. These technologies could enhance resource allocation, improve cybersecurity, and unlock new economic opportunities for Africa, the participants said.

There was a strong consensus on the urgent need for convergence. Participants agreed that by breaking down silos and collaborating effectively, Africa could leverage its digital infrastructure to drive economic development, enhance social services, and build a more inclusive society.

Investment in subsea infrastructure for resilience was highlighted as crucial. However, greater emphasis on local exchanges and terrestrial infrastructure to minimize downtime during outages was also emphasised. CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies Nigeria, Wole Abu, called for collaboration beyond technical levels, advocating for a unified approach among industry stakeholders to solve these challenges collectively.

Program Manager, Network Investments at Meta, Ego Jegede, praised the collaboration on the 2Africa project, noting that the model of cooperation among competitors should be replicated for terrestrial corridors to address infrastructure gaps and improve connectivity.

Power Infrastructure

Power emerged as a recurring theme, with operators advocating for advancements in power infrastructure and exploration of alternative sources such as solar, gas, and private power solutions close to data centers. However, the enabling environment for power projects, particularly around transmission and distribution, was recognised as a significant barrier.

Regional Executive at Africa Data Centers, Dr. Krish Ranganath, called for collaboration among industry stakeholders on power and real estate, suggesting that data centers along a geographical axis could work together with independent power producers.

Chairman of ConnectedCompute, Lanre Kolade, and Head of Operations at Radio Group, Adewole Adebisi, highlighted the importance of political will in creating a conducive environment for African businesses to thrive.

They stressed the need to improve the ease of doing business for both foreign and local investors.

Enabling Environment

In some of the panel sessions moderated by the CEO, Open Access Data Centres, Dr. Ayotunde Coker and the COO, MDXi, Mr. Gbenga Adegbiji, the panelists identified several factors affecting the growth of data centres in Africa, but explained that with strategic collaboration between government and the private sector, the challenges could be addressed.

The panelists were of the view that government should build the enabling environment for data centre business to thrive across Africa.