Raxio Group is continuing its expansion in Africa, having already deployed data centers in Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Data center operator Raxio Group announced earlier today the inauguration of its data center in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, as part of its African expansion strategy. Raxio Côte d'Ivoire (CIV1) aims to meet the growing demand for connectivity, storage, and data processing in Côte d'Ivoire and across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

Certified as a Tier 3 facility, CIV1 offers neutrality regarding telecom operators and cloud services. The data center can accommodate up to 800 racks and provide 3 MW of computing power.

"Abidjan is the ideal location for organizations and businesses from across the economic region to colocate their mission-critical infrastructure in a highly reliable and secure facility. We are proud to contribute a fundamental cornerstone to facilitate Côte d’Ivoire’s continued digital growth and cement its hub status in the region," said Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Group.

CIV1 is Raxio Group's fifth data center in Africa. Its inauguration follows the launch of DRC1, Raxio's data center in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about a month earlier. This expansion aligns with Raxio's 2019 commitment to build 10 to 12 data centers across the continent to meet the increasing demand for digital services.

These investments come amid a significant shortfall in supply, caused by the late adoption of data centers in the region. As of mid-2023, Africa hosted less than 2% of the global colocation data center capacity, with more than half located in South Africa, according to the "Data Centres in Africa Focus Report" by Oxford Business Group, published in April 2024. The report also notes that Africa needs 1,000 MW and 700 facilities to meet demand and bring capacity density in line with that of South Africa, the region's leader.

Isaac K. Kassouwi