Uche Cecil Izuora
Africa Data Center Market Investment has been projected to reach USD 8.76 Billion by 2031, as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt emerge as Strategic Hubs.
According to Arizton, the Africa data center market size will witness investments of USD 8.76 billion by 2031, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.76 per cent during the forecast period.
The cost of developing a data center in Egypt is estimated at $8–10 per watt, making it one of the more cost-competitive markets in Africa.
In March 2025, Vodacom launched a new carrier-neutral data center in Maputo, Mozambique, with an investment of approximately $25 million. The facility is directly connected to the 2Africa subsea cable, enhancing the country’s digital connectivity.
Other African countries, including Morocco, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and Gabon, are expected to attract around $1.36 billion in data center investments by 2031.
In January 2026, RailTel Corporation of India secured a contract worth approximately $2.2 million to develop a government data center in Addis Ababa for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supporting the country’s Digital Ethiopia Strategy.
The African data center market continues to attract strong investment interest, with overall investments projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.76 per cent while the colocation segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 23.74 per cent through 2031.
Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt continue to attract a significant share of data center investments due to their established connectivity ecosystems, growing digital economies, and rising demand for cloud and colocation services.
At the same time, countries such as Morocco and Tunisia are gaining attention due to their proximity to Europe and extensive submarine cable connectivity. As demand for digital infrastructure grows across Africa, these advantages are helping broaden the range of locations being considered for future data center development and investment.
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration in Africa’s data center market as operators look to balance rising power demand with long-term energy security. The region’s abundant solar, wind, and hydro resources are creating opportunities to support data center growth with cleaner energy sources while helping reduce operating costs. This shift is already visible across the market, with operators securing renewable power agreements and governments expanding investments in renewable energy infrastructure. For instance, Teraco signed a wind energy supply agreement in South Africa in 2025, while Egypt is accelerating large-scale solar and wind projects to increase renewable generation capacity. As power requirements continue to grow, access to reliable and renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important factor in future data center development.
The expansion of submarine cable infrastructure continues to strengthen the foundation for data center growth across Africa. As demand for cloud services, AI workloads, and digital platforms increases, countries are investing in international connectivity to improve network capacity and support rising data traffic. Egypt remains one of the region’s most connected markets, with 17 operational submarine cables and six additional systems under development, reinforcing its role as a key gateway linking Africa with Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Kenya is also expanding its connectivity footprint through new submarine cable investments.
At the same time, the submarine cable disruptions experienced across West Africa in 2024 have highlighted the importance of network resilience, driving greater focus on cable diversity and redundancy to support future data center investments and digital infrastructure growth across the region