In a move set to reshape Africa’s technological landscape, Cassava Technologies, the brainchild of Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, has partnered with U.S. tech behemoth Nvidia to build Africa’s first-ever AI factory.
The UK-headquartered Cassava Technologies, founded and chaired by Masiyiwa, announced plans to construct a “powerful and super-secure data centre facility,” harnessing Nvidia’s world-class AI computing technology.
The rollout will begin at Cassava’s data centre in South Africa by June 2025, with expansion already planned for Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
“This will give African businesses, governments and researchers access to cutting-edge AI computing capacity, helping them develop smarter AI products, streamline operations and stay competitive in a fast-changing world.
It provides the supercomputers and software needed to train AI while keeping data within Africa’s borders,” the company said.
The project will leverage Nvidia’s GPU-based supercomputers, enabling “faster AI model training, fine-tuning and advanced inference capabilities,” according to Cassava.
These advancements will be delivered across the continent via the company’s pan-African fibre-optic network and robust data centre infrastructure, offering AI as a Service (AIaaS).
“By using this secure, high-performance AI Factory, African businesses and governments can develop local solutions to local challenges, enabling Africans to build, train, scale and deploy AI in a secure environment compliant with global and local regulations,” the company added.
Masiyiwa emphasized the broader significance of this initiative, describing it as a turning point for Africa’s role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“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,” Masiyiwa said.
Masiyiwa added, “Collaborating with NVIDIA gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa’s AI innovation while strengthening the continent’s digital independence.”
Nvidia, with a market valuation nearing $3 trillion, brings its expertise in artificial intelligence software, hardware, and GPU technology to this transformative partnership.
Jaap Zuiderveld, vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Nvidia, echoed the excitement.
“AI is helping innovators solve our greatest challenges in agriculture, healthcare, energy, financial services and many other industries creating opportunity in Africa,” Zuiderveld said.
Zuiderveld further noted, “Cassava will provide infrastructure and software to help companies and organisations accelerate AI development.”
As Cassava and Nvidia unite forces, Africa’s innovators, researchers, and businesses are on the cusp of gaining the tools and infrastructure needed to pioneer AI solutions tailored to the continent’s unique challenges, without having to look beyond their own borders.
