Africa’s operational data centre capacity has surpassed 500 MW, with another 890 MW of projects in development, according to a report by Fortren & Company.
- +Africa’s data centre capacity exceeds 500 MW with 890 MW in pipeline – Report
The report attributed the growth to rising demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), data storage, and digital transformation across the continent.
The report attributed the growth to rising demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), data storage, and digital transformation across the continent.
While South Africa accounts for more than 60% of operational capacity, investment is increasingly spreading to Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Morocco.
Africa’s digital economy has attracted significant investment in digital infrastructure over the past decade, driven by rapid cloud adoption, AI, advanced computing, and digital transformation.
According to the report, these trends are increasing demand for hyperscale data centres capable of handling far larger computing workloads than traditional enterprise facilities.
The report said investors increasingly view data centres as critical infrastructure assets because of their long-term contracted revenues, resilient demand, and strategic role in digital economies.
It estimated that Africa has 890 MW of data centre projects in the pipeline, including Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Kenya, Khazna Data Center in Egypt, and Airtel’s planned data centre in Nigeria.
The report added that megawatt capacity has become the industry’s preferred benchmark because it directly reflects a facility’s computing capability and long-term revenue potential.
South Africa accounts for four of Africa’s seven largest operational data centres, while Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt each have one facility. The Teraco Isando Campus in Johannesburg leads the ranking with 70 MW of Information Technology (IT) capacity—the amount of power available to run servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and other computing equipment.
The ranking highlights South Africa’s leadership while showing that major investments are increasingly spreading across other African markets.
The findings align with the Lagos Real Estate Development Pipeline Report 2025/2026 by Estate Intel, which projects Lagos’ total data centre capacity will exceed 218 MW by 2030, more than 3.7 times its current capacity of 78.6 MW, as at the time of the report.
The continued expansion of Africa’s data centre industry underscores the continent’s growing digital economy and rising demand for cloud services, AI, and digital infrastructure.
