Data centers are becoming the backbone of cloud services adoption. They provide users with everything they need to get started – online storage, computing power, software, servers, and applications – all accessible over the internet.

From 2012 to 2022, the number of data centers in West and East Africa saw a significant increase, jumping from 9 to 134. This information was highlighted in the "Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023" published by the World Bank in March 2024.

The report explains: “Development funding for data centers is increasing to fill the financing gaps. In Africa, where an estimated annual investment of between US$4 billion and US$7 billion is needed to bridge the region’s data center gap, the US International Development Finance Corporation is providing funding of US$300 million to Africa Data Centers to support the expansion and development of seven existing and greenfield data centers in five African countries.”

The ongoing technological revolution in Africa, accelerated by the digital transformation spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has made digital infrastructures, especially data centers, essential. An increasing number of globally recognized providers have established a presence on the continent, leading to a rise in the number of these infrastructures in Africa.

Several American companies, including Raxio Data Centres, Digital Realty, and Oracle, along with France's Orange and China's Huawei, have set up operations in various African countries. Local entities like Africa Data Centres, Paix Data Centres, Onix Data Centres, and MainOne continue to expand across the continent. In addition to private sector involvement, African governments are also investing in these infrastructures in their pursuit of digital sovereignty.

The "Cloud Computing Market" report published in December 2023 by U.S.-based market research firm MarketsandMarkets projected that the global cloud market would grow from $626.4 billion in 2023 to $1,266.4 billion by 2028, with a compounded annual growth rate of 15.1%. While this growth is promising, Africa and the Middle East hold marginal shares compared to North America, the undisputed leader in the sector, according to the same source.

Adoni Conrad Quenum