Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, has partnered with Nairobi-based IXAfrica Data Centres to launch East Africa’s first and largest hyperscale data center. This development aims to transform Kenya’s digital landscape by providing stable, reliable, and sustainable cloud services.
The new Tier 3+ facility, dubbed NBOX1, boasts cutting-edge technology and a robust power train based on Schneider Electric’s medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) switchgear. This state-of-the-art infrastructure ensures seamless operation and high availability for cloud service providers, catering to the growing demand for data-intensive applications and services in the region.
One of the most notable aspects of this project is its commitment to sustainability. The data center is powered by renewable energy sources, tapping into Kenya’s abundant solar and geothermal resources. This not only reduces the facility’s carbon footprint but also contributes to Kenya’s ambitious renewable energy goals.
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure for Data Centers architecture and solutions underpin the entire project, providing NBOX1 with maximum resilience, uptime, and cost efficiency. The facility is engineered to support N+1 redundancy with four independent power trains, ensuring a 99.999% uptime guarantee, a critical factor for businesses relying on cloud services for their operations.
Ifeanyi Odoh, Schneider Electric’s Country President in East Africa, emphasised the company’s commitment to supporting IXAfrica’s immediate and long-term objectives, including achieving a design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.25 across the campus. This metric indicates the data center’s energy efficiency, with a lower PUE signifying greater efficiency.
The launch of NBOX1 is expected to have a transformative impact on Kenya’s digital economy. By providing a world-class facility for cloud services, it will attract both local and international businesses, fostering innovation, creating jobs, and boosting economic growth. Moreover, the data center’s focus on renewable energy aligns with global efforts to combat climate change, making it a model for sustainable development in the region.
As East Africa continues to embrace digital transformation, the Schneider Electric-IXAfrica partnership marks a pivotal moment in the region’s technological evolution. The NBOX1 hyperscale data center is a testament to the potential for collaboration and innovation to drive sustainable growth and create a brighter digital future for the region.
