Cassava Technologies - Afrikan Heroes

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Nokia Ink Connectivity Partnership

February 8, 2023

Hardy Pemhiwa, President & CEO of Cassava Technologies

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, today announced that it has partnered with Nokia. Through this partnership, Liquid deployed Nokia’s innovative transport network technology in the new terrestrial fibre route connecting Mombasa (Kenya) to Johannesburg (South Africa).

This announcement comes in light of the imminent launch of the new terrestrial data superhighway built by Liquid, connecting Kenya and South Africa. The technology used has allowed Liquid to build its first terrestrial route that will provide 12 terabits of capacity for carriers and service providers in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the DRC. The route, which measures 16,576 km, has been designed to cater to the demand for more capacity from Liquid’s hyperscale customers.

Hardy Pemhiwa, Group President and CEO of Cassava Technologies, says, “As a business of Cassava Technologies, Liquid is committed to enabling a digitally connected future for every business and individual in Africa. We are proud to partner with Nokia as we expand our high speed fibre backbone on the continent. This investment further demonstrates our commitment towards Africa’s inclusive digital transformation”.

In addition, the route will provide thousands of businesses and millions of households in many of Africa’s landlocked cities, towns and villages with more resilient connectivity and access to numerous data centres and cloud resources. At the same time, providing an alternative option in case of a subsea cable outage between the two countries.

Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of Central East and West Africa (CEWA) Market Unit at Nokia, said, “Nokia’s next-generation optical network will enable Liquid Intelligent Technologies to maintain its leadership position and emerge as a preferred partner of organizations requiring massive capacity. We are delighted that our technology and expertise will help Liquid Intelligent Technologies provide the best-in-class digital infrastructure to Africa’s enterprises and will play a role in strengthening the digital infrastructure of the continent”.

Shahzad Manzoor Khan, Group Chief Technology Officer, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, adds, “Internet giants, established cloud service providers and other mega-organisations are demanding hyperscale data centres that can support high levels of performance, spikes in demand, and redundancy while enabling massive availability. Our new terrestrial fibre corridor is the first of its kind in Africa in terms of distance and capacity”.

The new route is a validation for existing and potential customers that Liquid continues to deliver intelligent networks that provide increased redundancy and resilience.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa Data Centres to Build its First Data Centre in Kigali, Rwanda

November 28, 2022

The Africa Data Centres (https://www.AfricaDataCentres.com/) has announced that it is building its first data centre in Kigali, Rwanda; The facility will have 2MW of IT load and will break ground in the first quarter of 2023.

Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, is pleased to announce that it is building its first data centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The data centre will have 2MW of IT load and will be purpose-built to meet growing demand in the region.

“It is an exciting time for Africa Data Centres,” says Tesh Durvasula, the company’s CEO. “Our decision to build a data centre in Kigali was an easy one, given Rwanda’s robust economic recovery post the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government of Rwanda’s focus on digital transformation”.

“This latest announcement adds to and complements our existing investments in Rwanda and elsewhere in East Africa. We will work closely with both public and private enterprises in Rwanda to ensure that they can harness the benefits of our data centre facility to enable the provision of digital services that Rwandan citizens need,“added Hardy Pemhiwa, Group President & CEO of Cassava Technologies.

According to Durvasula, “This new data centre brings three main benefits to the market – global standards, high quality of service and affordability. In addition, enterprises will achieve cost savings associated with building and maintaining their own facilities”.

Although Rwanda is a landlocked country in East Africa, there is stable network connectivity and infrastructure connecting it to Uganda and from there to the Kenyan coast into Uganda. Africa Data Centres will ensure that Rwanda becomes part of their ecosystem in East Africa by connecting the new data centre to their site in Nairobi.

Speaking of the need for colocation services in the country, Durvasula says the local enterprise market is eager to benefit from Africa Data Centres’ colocation services and a stable data centre environment. “They will also be able to make the most of global connectivity through a range of global service providers and cloud service providers”.

Ultimately, Africa Data Centres wants to extend the same experience to clients in Rwanda as it does in other countries by building a world-class ecosystem to which the Rwandan market can connect.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa-focused Tech Firm Cassava Secures $50M Investment

July 19, 2022

Cassava Technologies, an African integrated technology corporation, said today that it has received a $50 million investment from C5 Capital (C5), a specialist venture capital firm that invests in cyber security, space security, and energy security. The investment is part of a larger funding round to help Cassava grow faster.

C5’s investment will help to accelerate Cassava’s efforts to improve digital connectivity and inclusivity on the African continent.

Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Cassava Technologies

Cassava will serve as the go-to-market partner in Africa for C5’s cutting-edge portfolio firms, delivering best-in-class cyber security, satellite and space technologies, and renewable energy.

C5 and Cassava have already announced a collaboration in which Haven Cyber, a C5 portfolio business, and Cassava will scale Microsoft’s range of cybersecurity technologies across Africa to assist battle cybercrime.

“This investment from C5 is part of our plan to raise additional growth capital whilst diversifying our investor base. We are delighted that C5 has joined us to help realise our vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind,” says Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Cassava Technologies.

Cassava Technologies operates in over 20 African countries and is at the forefront of offering new technological solutions to local businesses and individuals.

The company offers digital solutions (in fibre networks, renewable energy, cloud, cyber-security, fintech, and digital platforms) to over 1 million businesses and internet connectivity to over 500 million Africans.

“We are delighted to partner with Cassava Technologies, to bring the most innovative cyber security, space and energy security products and services to African markets,” said André Pienaar, Chief Executive and Founder of C5 Capital.

C5 and Cassava want to provide expertise in cyber security to Africa by building a network of state-of-the-art Cyber Security Operations Centres (CSOCs) across Africa through a partnership between Haven Cyber (a C5 portfolio firm) and Liquid Cloud & Cybersecurity (a Cassava business).

The CSOC network will enable the continent to receive cyber security services and operations more quickly. The first CSOC is scheduled to open in South Africa later this year.

“Recent industry reports highlight that cyber security threats cost Africa close to $4.1 billion in lost GDP in 2021. This is primarily due to the massive increase in the adoption of technology in businesses and governments across Africa and increased vulnerabilities as cyber-attack technologies evolve,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, the President and CEO of Cassava.

“Today’s investment from C5 and our pan-continental partnership will enhance our ability to enable our customers to build secure and stable cloud-based digital services critical to transforming lives on the continent.”

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Moroccan On-demand Tutoring Startup SmartProf Raises New Funding

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Tesh Durvasula To Lead Africa Data Centres As CEO

February 14, 2022

Cassava Technologies has announced the appointment of Tesh Durvasula to lead its transformation process at Africa Data Centres (ADC) as the new Chief Executive Officer. Durvasula will be responsible for driving growth, innovation and strategy of Cassava Technologies’ data centres to meet Africa’s accelerating demand for data and digital infrastructure.

Durvasula is an experienced technology and real estate industry executive with a 25-year track record of successful leadership and value generation in the digital infrastructure sector. He will lead the ADC team as the organisation rapidly expands its footprint of hyperscale data centres throughout Africa with a plan to add an additional ten data centres in the top ten economic centres in Africa.

The Chairman and Founder of Cassava Technologies Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, said that, “At Cassava Technologies our objective is to empower individuals and businesses with technology, based on our vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind. Through our digital infrastructure and services, we are empowering our customers to fully participate in the fast-growing digital economy in Africa. Expanding our data centres footprint and management capacity is key to our strategy”.

Hardy Pemhiwa, President & CEO of Cassava Technologies, “We are delighted to welcome Tesh into the Cassava Technologies family and look forward to leveraging on his extensive industry experience as he leads our data centres business into its next phase of rapid expansion to meet the increased demand for data centre capacity in Africa. Following the conclusion of our $300m funding with the US IDFC and the recent $90m equity investment by IFC, it was imperative that we scale up our management team”.

Prior to joining ADC, Tesh served in a variety of executive roles at CyrusOne, culminating in his appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. And, before that, he served as president of Europe operations for CyrusOne, overseeing CyrusOne’s expansion into England, Ireland, France and Germany, helping grow CONE into one of the largest publicly traded REIT’s in the US.

“The potential to grow digital infrastructure is bigger in Africa than anywhere else and this will provide a number of opportunities for economic transformation. I am extremely pleased to be joining Africa Data Centres and Cassava Technologies, especially now as Africa has become one of the fastest-growing data usage regions in the world. I feel we are well poised to make an invaluable contribution to Africa’s rapidly developing digital ecosystem,” concluded Durvasula.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has travelled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry