One of the largest networks of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities on the continent, Africa Data Centres,has announced the official opening of its new 10MW data centre facility in Lagos, Nigeria. The new facility, the company says, will pave the way for Africa Data Centres hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa.

CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, describes Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets as there is a rapidly-growing demand for data centres in the region, which is hungry for digitisation, as organisations of every type and size in Africa accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

He says as part of the recently launched Cassava Technologies group, Africa Data Centres plays a critical role when it comes to providing this very digital infrastructure that is needed to support the mass adoption of digital services for consumers and businesses in the region.

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Duproz also announced that the new facility is the first of four faculties being earmarked for Nigeria, adding that the company has plans to also build an additional facility in Lagos at a separate location to ensure full disaster backup, whilst Abuja, and Port Harcourt will also get their own facilities.

“Africa Data Centre is witnessing an unprecedented demand for fintech services, apps, broadband, cloud technologies, and more, all of which are seeing data demand skyrocket.”

This latest announcement follows hard on the heels of Africa Data Centres recently announced major data centre expansion plans that will see the company building hyperscale data centres throughout Africa.

“These plans are the greatest Africa has ever seen. They will see us build some ten interconnected, cloud- and carrier-neutral data centres across the length and breadth of the continent, in an unmatched $500-million investment in Africa’ digital transformation, which will double our already significant investment in the continent,” adds Duproz. 

The 10MW facility in Lagos is a key part of this expansion as Nigeria is a critical African market in terms of leading the charge for hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa.

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The Lagos facility will be the de facto hub for Africa Data Centres in West Africa, says Duproz.

“We built this facility in response to the massive demand from hyperscalers, key cloud operators and multi-national enterprises that already use our facilities and have expressed interest in being a part of bringing digitisation at scale to West Africa. As the unquestioned leaders in data centre operations in Africa, we were the clear choice as partners in their expansion strategies.”

Duproz said the Nigerian data centers were part of a Continental network of data centers being rolled out in all the key cities of Africa. However, Duproz stresses that there will be no question of sacrificing the environment to carry out the company’s ambitious digitisation plans.

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

As part of ongoing expansion of its data centres across the continent, the Africa Data Centres, a carrier-neutral co-location data centre provider, has announced a strong expansion in Nairobi. The company has begun the development of a second data centre of up to 20MW of IT load and is securing land for a third facility.

The Nairobi $200-million plus investment will double Kenya’s data centre capacity and serve the development of Kenya as a key digital hub, the company says, allowing Kenyan data to stay in Kenya by providing the reliable digital infrastructure it needs.

“Africa Data Centres currently has the leading carrier-neutral data centre in Nairobi and East Africa as a whole,” says Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres.

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“We have the most dynamic ecosystem, in terms of the largest number of connectivity providers on-site in the region, as well as the strongest leadership in the enterprise sector and financial services in particular,” he adds.

The announcement follows hot on the heels of the company’s announcement that it is embarking on one of the greatest-ever data centre expansion plans the continent has ever seen.

In September, Africa Data Centres announced that it plans to build a total of ten interconnected, cloud- and carrier-neutral data centres across the length and breadth of Africa in an unprecedented $500m investment in the continent’s digital transformation.“The expansion will more than double our already significant footprint on the continent,” he says.Duproz says the two new Kenya facilities are part of this expansion. “Kenya is one of the top data centre markets in Africa and is widely viewed as the gateway to the East African region.

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There has been a dramatic increase in the adoption of digital services, and the move from on-premises to colocation and managed facilities will be at the vanguard of data centre development in the years to come.”Duproz says Africa Data Centres is committed to uplifting the region by providing world-class access to data centres and networks, ushering in the age of hyper-scale to East Africa, to enable established businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive in today’s digital world.

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

The only pan-African network of interconnected, carrier-and cloud-neutral data centres on the continent, Africa Data Centers, has completed its new Johannesburg data centre, based in its Midrand Campus, which, the company says, is one of the largest in Africa. This state-of-the-art facility, designed with the latest global standards is the ideal location for technology companies and enterprises to secure IT infrastructure in an interconnected environment.

This ultra-modern facility continues to strengthen the leading position that Africa Data Centres has in the South African market.

The new hyperscale data centre is one of the continent’s most significant data centre deployments which alongside existing facilities across the Africa Continent further entrenches Africa Data Centres’ dominance on the Continent.

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Commenting on the launch, CEO of Africa Data Centres, Stephane Duproz, said, “We are thrilled to be able to deliver to our existing and future customers the most modern data centre in Johannesburg. We are happy to be a partner in our customers’ growth by delivering capacity in this facility immediately. This investment demonstrates Africa Data Centres confidence in the South African economy and digital development.”

The new data centre is part of the company’s response to the demand for data centres as businesses across the continent accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

The unveiling of the new facility comes amidst Africa Data Centres’ announcement of plans to build 10 additional data centres in new countries and to significantly expand its data centre footprint by more than twice its current capacity across Africa. 

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This expansion project will involve building 10 hyperscale data centres, in 10 countries across Africa including the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, over the next two years – at a cost of more than $500-million. It is being funded through new equity and facilities from leading development finance institutions and multilateral organisations.

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

As part of the Togolese government’s National Development Plan to ensure the country’s digital transformation and economic repositioning, the country has opened the first data centre which has been officially opened for business in the country’s capital of Lomé.  Togo’s National Development Plan has sought to leverage the country’s geographic position by transforming Lomé into a regional trading centre and transport hub.

The plan implemented business reforms and completed large infrastructure projects to attract investment; and, it established the Business Climate Unit to coordinate economic reforms and play a key role in improving the business climate for the private sector – improving the ease of doing business in Togo as a result.

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Consequently, the country has prospered – with its economic and digital transformation following a trajectory that has resulted in Togo rising more than 50 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business report in the last two years.

Significantly, the government has restored Togo’s reputation as a regional banking centre, resulting in an influx of regional and sub-regional banks now operating in the country.

This rapid economic and developmental upturn is not only attracting direct foreign investment; it is also establishing Togo as a West African hub. But, with interest from financial sector organisations comes a demand for high-speed access to global data – and the only reliable way to reduce latency for these highly time-sensitive organisations is their proximity to world-class data centres.

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It was this foresight that prompted the Togolese government to announce the commencement of its data centre project, called Carrier Hotel, in December 2018, and, with its completion, the project provides Togo with the foundation to enter the next phase of its economic and digital development.

The Government of Togo contracted Africa Data Centres, Africa’s largest network of carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, to manage its carrier hotel, recognising its expertise in the pan-African market.

“Africa Data Centres has a vast network of interconnected data centres across the continent,” says Stephane Duproz, CEO at Africa Data Centres.

“Together with our expertise, our commitment to efficiency, reliability, sustainability and security are factors that are essential to give confidence to businesses wishing to secure Togo as their digital hub. Additionally, these businesses directly benefit from Africa Data Centres’ over 25 points of presence across the continent – offering direct, dedicated, secure and redundant connection to multiple hyper-cloud providers.”

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The Togolese Government has announced that in terms of reliability, security, quality, and technology, this data centre is one of the most prominent in West Africa.As such, the region – both the public sector and civil society – is set to benefit directly from:

Enhanced safety: storing data in distributed data centres is safer

Enhance compliance: Distributed data centres make compliance with new ‘digital’ regulations easier

Enhance speed: Data transmission speed is higher in distributed data centres

Reduced risk: Distributed data centres lower geopolitical risks

Reduced costs: Lower transactional costs

Data domiciliation: Keeping Togolese data on Togolese soil allows for regulatory compliance, and strongly bolsters national security of critical data

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Employment: Directly, the Togolese people will benefit from employment within the facility, but far more importantly is indirectly through the vast ecosystem of opportunity that locally based data centres create

The Africa Data Centres’ managed Togo facility provides the infrastructure and security of a dedicated data centre, without any individual organisation having to shoulder the costs. By housing servers in a colocation facility, organisations enjoy the benefits of having their servers in the cloud while still maintaining physical control of their systems.

Through both economies of scale and access to world-leading best practices, colocation mitigates costs and boosts innumerable benefits by housing servers in a facility that provides the infrastructure and physical security to keep deployments safe, operational, and connected.

The government’s focus on Togo’s digital transformation, through its Togo Digital 2025 project, has committed to be “resolutely engaged in a process of transformation of its economy, [and] has decided to make digital technology the cornerstone of this transformation”.

As Togo’s Carrier Hotel opens its doors, the next phase of the country’s economic and digital development has taken a powerful stride forward.

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