Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria is providing leadership in the African data center construction market.
Although, data shows South Africa as the major contributor to the capacity in the region, with more than 50 per cent, Nigeria races behind overtaking Kenya, and other African countries.
In an information by Reportlinker.com which announced the release of the report “Africa Data Center Construction Market – Industry Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028” , cloud-based services, smart city developments, and fiber connectivity drive continuous regional data center investments.
The region’s major global cloud service providers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle, and Huawei Technologies. For instance, in September 2022, Google Cloud announced its plan to open a new cloud region in Cape Town, South Africa. The cloud region is expected to be operational in the next 2–3 years.
The Africa data center construction market grows continuously in terms of connectivity by deploying new submarine cables such as Africa-1, 2Africa, India Europe Xpress (IEX), Equiano, and Medusa Submarine Cable System SeaMeWe – 6, which are expected to be ready for services during the forecast period.
The introduction of the 5G network in Africa is likely to generate a substantial amount of data, which will further lead to increasing investments in the African data center construction market.
High internet connectivity, bandwidth, and less processing time is the feature of 5G technology.
The countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Ethiopia, have witnessed the commercial launch of the 5G network in the region, while the countries like Ghana, Algeria, Tanzania, and Congo were in the initial stages of their development.
Vodacom, MTN, Ericsson, Orange, Ethio Telecom, and Rain are the main telecom operators in Africa involved in the commercial deployment of 5G services that partially or entirely cover 5G services in the country.
Several pilot 5G projects are underway and expected to be deployed in the forecasted period.
Due to the unavailability of proper power infrastructure in the African region, the facilities were forced to develop their renewable energy infrastructure for power generation.
Oriental News Nigeria, reports that MTN, a South Africa-based telecom company, operates four data centers in Kenya and other African countries, uses renewable energy to power its facilities, and targets carbon neutrality by 2040. It has introduced the “Project Zero” program.
In June 2022, Vantage Data Centers signed 20 years Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SolarAfrica in which the company will procure 87 MWp of solar energy that will be used to power its new facility.
The African region also has abundant availability of solar energy, like the Middle Eastern region.
In contrast, most African countries are undertaking renewable energy strategies & visions to develop renewable energy projects and meet the carbon-neutral goals set by respective governments in the region.
In July 2022, the Nigeria made a statement regarding its commitment to the sustainability goal for 2030.
The Federal Government is planning to generate 30 GW of electricity from renewable sources by generating renewable energy as 30% of its total production while Egypt expects to increase the share of electricity produced from renewable sources to 42 per cent by 2035.