Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s richest man, and Jensen Huang, the world’s tenth-richest person, are working together to build Africa’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) factory.
Through Masiyiwa’s company Cassava Technologies and Huang’s Nvidia, one of the largest companies in the US by valuation, construction of the groundbreaking facility is already underway.
Graphics processing units (GPUs) have started arriving in South Africa, marking the first time these units have been deployed on the continent, according to Business Insider.
Masiyiwa said in a press release, “Collaborating with Nvidia gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa’s AI innovation while strengthening the continent’s digital independence.”
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In April, Cassava Technologies announced it was considering investing up to $720 million in the project.
Speaking at the Global AI Summit on Africa 2025 in Kigali, where he served as co-chair, Masiyiwa said, “The future comes from young people building apps and solutions, small businesses every day across this continent using AI. They are the digital natives, and we have just given them the ability to do what they do best.”
The plan is to bring Nvidia’s high-speed computing systems and AI software to key markets such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco.
Nvidia will deploy its AI software using NVIDIA Cloud Partner reference architectures and install hundreds of GPUs that power advanced supercomputers.
Masiyiwa added, “Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution. Our AI Factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, startups, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs, and now, they don’t have to look beyond Africa to get it.”
According to Cassava president Hardy Pemhiwa, as reported by Forbes, 3,000 Nvidia GPUs are being installed at the South African facility this June, with another 9,000 set to be deployed over the next three to four years in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and Egypt.
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