(Ecofin Agency) - The U.S. support will enable Africa Data Centres to expand its footprint in other African countries and effectively meet high demand in the growing data center market.  

Africa Data Centres (ADC), the Cassava Technologies Group's data center construction and operations subsidiary, has received an US$83 million disbursement from the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Development Finance Agency (DFC). The disbursement, announced last week, is the first tranche of a US$300 million commitment. It will enable the company to expand its network of data centers in South Africa.

The US$300 million loan was committed by the DFC in December 2020, to support ADC’s African expansion strategy. Indeed, ADC wants to capitalize on the acceleration of digital transformation across Africa by building data centers in ten of the most important economic capitals on the continent, including  Abidjan, Lagos, Accra, Cairo and Casablanca. In September 2021, it announced a 2-year US$500 million investment plan specifically for that purpose.  

“DFC’s investment in Africa Data Centres helps expand critical information and communications technology infrastructure in South Africa, Kenya, and other countries in the region [...]Building secure, trusted information technology networks will help enable development and economic growth throughout Africa,”  explained DFC CEO Scott Nathan.

According to the "South Africa Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2021-2026" report, investment in the data center market in South Africa is expected to reach US$3 billion by 2026, up from an estimated US$1.31 billion in 2020. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 15.17% over 2021-2026. In addition, cloud adoption is expected to grow up to 25% annually and generate revenues of up to US$1.5 billion by 2024.

Isaac K. Kassouwi