The African cloud market is growing into a multi-billion-dollar industry, fueled by rising digital adoption across the continent. While challenges like limited data centers, regulatory issues, and affordability persist, efforts like localized solutions and AWS’s local currency payment options are making cloud services more accessible to African businesses.

Cloud service provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) has expanded its local currency payment options, now allowing customers in Europe to pay in Egyptian Pound (EGP) and Nigerian Naira (NGN), alongside other newly supported currencies. This move, announced on January 13, is part of AWS’s commitment to localizing the payment experience and making its services more accessible to businesses across Africa.

“Local currencies are important in localizing the payment experience for customers. With payments in their local currencies, customers can avoid foreign exchange costs associated with making foreign currency payments,” says AWS.

Paying in local currencies offers significant benefits for AWS customers. It eliminates the costs associated with currency conversion, which can add substantial overhead to businesses making payments in foreign currencies. Additionally, it reduces payment friction, particularly in countries where local regulations may restrict foreign currency access.

By accepting payments in EGP and NGN, AWS is helping African businesses streamline their billing processes and allocate resources more efficiently, enabling them to focus on growth and innovation.

AWS customers can easily switch to local currency payments by logging into their AWS account, navigating to the “Billing and Cost Management” page, selecting “Payment Preferences” under “Preferences and Settings,” clicking “Edit” to change the default payment currency, and choosing the preferred currency from the dropdown menu. Once saved, all future invoices will be generated in the selected currency.

The Rise of the African Cloud 2023 report by Xalam Analytics reveals that Africa's cloud market has become a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, with annual growth rates of 25% to 30%. This rapid expansion is driving the continent's digital transformation, meeting the growing demand for scalable and cost-effective infrastructure to support startups, SMEs, and large enterprises. The trend underscores the critical role of localized solutions, such as offering local currency payment options, in removing adoption barriers and fueling even faster market growth.

With the inclusion of African currencies, AWS continues to demonstrate its dedication to supporting regional markets and addressing the unique needs of its diverse customer base. This update is expected to drive wider adoption of AWS services across Africa, empowering businesses to scale without the barriers of currency exchange challenges.

Hikmatu Bilali