Vodacom Group will look for partners to build AI data centres in South Africa and Kenya, following the model it has used in Egypt, chief executive Shameel Joosub said.
“Egypt, Kenya, South Africa are our bigger markets,” Joosub told Bloomberg. “It will be a big investment, and that is why we’re bringing on partners.”
In Egypt, Vodacom has already partnered with Strive Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies and Elsewedy Electric to build an AI data centre. Joosub did not disclose how much the wider build-out would cost.
How the deals would work
The data centres would be set up as joint ventures funded by a mix of equity and debt, he said. “On the one side we will have a stake in the data centre, and on the other side we will probably do the lion’s share of the sales of the data centre to customers.”
Racing to close the gap
Africa hosts less than 1% of global data-centre capacity despite having the world’s fastest-growing and youngest population. Most of the continent’s computing power is in South Africa, where Microsoft, Alibaba and Amazon offer cloud services.
Vodacom’s rival MTN recently partnered with a Middle East-based investment platform to start building AI data centres in Nigeria and South Africa. More local capacity would also give global cloud providers more options for hosting on the continent.
Results backdrop
Vodacom raised profit 26% in the six months to 30 September and grew customers 12% to a record 250 million. It took control of Kenya’s Safaricom in June, lifting its stake to 55% — a holding now subject to a court challenge in Kenya.
Based on reporting by Bloomberg, via Moneyweb.
