Africa’s transition to a more modern energy system is being accompanied by a push to build the digital infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence and advanced grid management, industry leaders say.
At the 2026 edition of the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris, a strategic panel titled “Investing in Digital Infrastructure” will explore the funding required to create resilient, high-capacity digital networks that can underpin the next phase of the continent’s energy evolution.
Digital infrastructure — including fiber-optic networks, data centers, smart-grid platforms and edge-computing facilities — is increasingly seen as essential for integrating renewable energy, managing distributed power generation and enabling predictive analytics that improve grid reliability and lower costs.
Across the continent, initiatives are already showing the link between digital technologies and energy outcomes. In places such as Senegal and Kenya, the Digital Energy Challenge — supported by the Agence Française de Développement and the European Union — is backing startups developing AI-driven demand-response tools, Internet of Things-enabled remote monitoring for solar assets and software to optimise grid operations.
Infrastructure that bridges energy and digital connectivity continues to grow. New data centers, such as the planned PAIX Data Centers project in Dakar, are expected online in 2026 with substantial capacity to support cloud services and advanced computing across West Africa. These facilities build on earlier investments, such as IXAfrica’s Tier III-certified NBOX1 center in Nairobi, which already handles AI-intensive workloads and is designed to scale with demand.
At the policy level, governments are incorporating digital growth into national development plans. Ethiopia’s Digital Ethiopia 2030 blueprint, launched in late 2025, sets ambitious goals for infrastructure expansion, inclusive digital services and AI readiness, tying energy modernisation to broader economic digitalisation.
Experts say the shift reflects a broader change in how energy systems are conceived: moving from hardware-centric models toward digitally enabled, data-driven platforms that enhance performance, reduce operational costs and support large-scale renewable integration. Real-time data and AI tools can help balance supply and demand from many sources, predict infrastructure failures before they happen, optimise maintenance and adjust grid configurations dynamically — capabilities that are increasingly important as electrification spreads and distributed energy resources grow.
Despite progress, financing remains a challenge. Africa’s share of global data-center capacity is still small compared with demand, and connectivity gaps persist in rural and peri-urban areas. Mobilising capital for digital-energy projects will require blended financing models, mechanisms to reduce investment risk and clear regulatory frameworks that encourage private participation alongside development finance.
The Invest in African Energy Forum’s panel on digital infrastructure aims to move beyond discussion to practical solutions, highlighting how investors can identify bankable opportunities in digital energy platforms, data-center developments, smart-grid technologies and connectivity initiatives that will underpin the continent’s next-generation power ecosystems.
