FEATURE : DATA CENTRES
These data centres are prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of African enterprises and SMEs , which provide 60 % of employment on the continent . There is a need for local operators that can offer appropriately sized data centres with services at affordable prices . This , coupled with the region ’ s growing data sovereignty requirements , means that the demand for localised data centre infrastructure is set to increase .
Interconnectivity
Private investment and government support aim to solve Africa ’ s connectivity issues . Undersea cables , including the SEA-ME-WE 5 , the Africa Coast to Europe , ACE , and the South Atlantic Cable System , SACS , connect Africa to global networks , providing high-capacity bandwidth to the continent .
Data centre operators have strategically located their facilities near the cable landing points along Africa ’ s coastline , such as Cape Town , Mombasa , and Djibouti , to take advantage of the high-speed connectivity , reduce latency , and improve service reliability .
For example , Wingu Africa built several data centres in Djibouti , which have connections to SMW- 3 , EIG , EASSy , AAE-1 , SEA-ME-WE-5 , and the Aden-Djibouti subsea cable . Liquid Intelligent Technologies established a data centre in Cape Town , close to several undersea cable landing stations , including the WACS , SAT-3 , WASC , and ACE cables .
Boosting connectivity across the continent is being led by firms like Raxio , which is building a 500-kilometre fibre network in Uganda to improve connectivity for its data centres and reduce its reliance on third-party providers .
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is expanding its own 110,000km terrestrial fibre-optic network to connect
Mike Meyer , CEO Portman Partners
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