Cassava Technologies has announced plans to build Africa’s first AI Factory, a cutting-edge, secure data centre powered by NVIDIA’s advanced AI computing technology.
The facility will be powered by NVIDIA’s advanced AI computing platform, with plans to go live in South Africa by June 2025. The AI Factory will serve as a pan-African resource, delivering AI as a Service (AIaaS) across Cassava’s growing network of data centres located in key markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and more.
At the heart of the AI Factory will be NVIDIA’s GPU-accelerated supercomputers, designed to handle the growing demand for machine learning, deep learning, and AI-powered applications. These AI capabilities will be underpinned by Cassava’s robust fibre infrastructure, which stretches across the continent and connects businesses, governments, and research institutions to the new AI ecosystem.
Cassava Technologies’ Chairman, Strive Masiyiwa, highlighted the project as a strategic move to ensure Africa is not left behind in the fourth industrial revolution. Masiyiwa emphasized the importance of home-grown AI solutions that can address Africa’s unique challenges in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, energy, and finance. The AI Factory aims to empower African innovators and enterprises by providing the computing power necessary to develop solutions tailored to local needs while adhering to global data protection standards.
NVIDIA’s Jaap Zuiderveld, Vice President for EMEA, reinforced the transformative potential of AI to accelerate innovation across critical industries and stressed how this partnership aligns with NVIDIA’s mission to democratize AI technology globally.
In addition to its core infrastructure services, Cassava’s AI Factory will contribute to advancing digital sovereignty across the continent, promoting responsible AI use, and strengthening Africa’s capacity for homegrown technological advancement. By reducing dependence on external cloud providers, African developers and businesses will gain faster and more affordable access to world-class AI services.
Cassava Technologies is positioning the AI Factory as a catalyst for digital growth and economic inclusion across Africa, promising new opportunities for startups, enterprises, and public sector organizations to tap into AI-driven innovation.
