FEATURE : DATA CENTRES

With traditional data centre hubs like Amsterdam and Dublin facing acute land and capacity constraints , and restrictive policies for data centre development , XSPs are beginning to expand into different regions , presenting an opportunity for Africa . Craig Blankers at WSP

Africa , Matone Ditlhake at Corridor Africa , Ghassan Azzi at Western Digital , share their perspectives .

On the African continent , urbanisation , population growth and the ongoing expansion of 3G , 4G and 5G networks are major drivers of the data centre boom , as more people connect to the Internet . Globally , the speed of change in the industry and the catalytic advances in Artificial Intelligence , and other highdensity technologies demand a vast amount of processing power to run , and that is changing how data centres are designed and built .

Revenue in Africa ’ s data centre market is projected to reach US $ 6.47 billion within this year and is expected to show a compound annual growth rate , CAGR of 7.18 % by 2029 , resulting in a market volume of US $ 9.15 billion . Though impressive , this growth is minimal when compared to global market predictions of 8.45 % CAGR and a market volume of US $ 624.10 billion by 2029 . Yet , according to the Africa Data Centres Association , Africa alone needs 1000MW and

700 facilities to meet growing demand . And investment is starting to come through .

According to Craig Blankers , Director Acting Sector Lead , WSP Africa , factors including limited infrastructure , slow digital transformation , and lack of awareness about the benefits of data centres , and advances in engineering and technology , play a role in these slow growth predictions .

A data centre that is built around the core principles of sustainability and being locally fit-for-purpose is not only modern in today ’ s context , but future-proof by design . Data centre owners looking to invest in Africa are largely drawn by the geographical space available and the enormous potential of the continent ’ s market .

Building for sustainability not only makes good operational business sense , but it also aligns with responsible corporate citizenship and meets environmental , social , and governance , ESG best practices .

Despite recent investments in data centre infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa , much of the continent ’ s capacity is still in South Africa , where the market comprises of 408MW . Nigeria and Egypt follow with 140MW and 118MW , respectively . Kenya is making strides as well , with 79MW , while Morocco closes out the top five with 65MW of supply .

With traditional data centre hubs like Amsterdam and Dublin now facing acute land and capacity constraints , and increasingly restrictive policies for data centres development , hyperscalers and operators are beginning to expand into different regions , presenting an opportunity for African locations like these .

The reliability of municipal power supplies is still a big challenge . The higher computing power needed – and therefore more cooling power needed – by facilities running AI demands reliable energy supply , not to mention flexible innovative solutions for reliable operations and enhanced performance .

34 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com