Why Nvidia is Targeting Data Centre Expansion Across Africa

A ground-breaking US$700m partnership between pan-African technology firm Cassava Technologies and US tech behemoth Nvidia represents a significant departure from traditional Western engagement on the continent.

The collaboration, which was first announced in March, will cover a number of areas. Most notably, the deal will see the construction of the first AI data centre powered by Nvidia’s supercomputers and chips anywhere across the continent.

This is an initiative steeped in the private sector, contrasting sharply with the state-driven technology investments China has made across Africa in recent years through its Belt & Road and Digital Silk Road programmes.

Eric Omorogieva, an analyst from the US-based foreign policy thinktank New Lines Institute, believes that Nvidia’s expansion into Africa could be significant.

"Few companies come close to the dominance of Nvidia in the AI sector due to its advances in GPUs," he explains.

“Nvidia holds a 93% share in the global GPU market and is the innovator behind most of the advanced chips required to power top systems around the world. 

“For African start-ups, access to these chips has been limited due to high costs and lack of availability. 

“By bringing them to the continent, Nvidia will assist in closing the computing gap by facilitating access to hardware throughout key sectors.”

Addressing Africa's computing deficit

The partnership directly tackles a critical infrastructure gap hampering African AI development.

Research by the UN Development Programme has revealed that just 5% of Africa's AI talent possesses the necessary computational power for research and innovation.

Within this group, just one-fifth benefit from on-premise access to graphics processing units (GPUs), with the remainder relying on limited cloud access budgets of around US$1,000 per month.

“Addressing this computational gap necessitates specialised infrastructure for AI development,” explains Eric.

Enter Nvidia. Jensen Huang’s company is the market leader in this kind of digital infrastructure. As such, Cassava’s partnership with Nvidia will be invaluable in boosting AI capabilities across the continent. 

The process will begin with a series of AI data centres, also known as AI factories.

“These factories offer numerous advantages to businesses, including enhanced system performance, scalability for increasing workloads, and the crucial ability to transform raw data into actionable intelligence that can generate revenue,” says Eric.

Rolling out across key markets

The initial phase of the collaboration launched in South Africa in June, where Nvidia deployed 3,000 GPUs to a Cassava-built data centre.

Over the next three to four years, the project is set to expand with a further 12,000 GPUs deployed across data centres in Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco.

As a part of this deal, Cassava has signed a memorandum of understanding with the South African AI Association to provide GPU access to over 3,000 AI practitioners, improving human resources in step with technological assets.

The venture is intended to enable local start-ups, businesses and governments to speed up the process of digital innovation with the help of AI, with sectors including healthcare, agriculture and fintech some of the main targets.

"Africa has historically contended with receiving second-rate technology," says Ziaad Suleman, CEO of Cassava Technologies. He is determined, however, that Nvidia will help to redress the balance.

International investments

Often, geopolitics can be gauged by looking at the business world.

The deal between Nvidia and Cassava comes at a time when the world’s two technology powerhouses, the US and China, are competing to exert influence on the international stage. 

As the era of AI kicks into top gear, both nations are exporting digital infrastructure around the world and are — intentionally or otherwise — shaping the future of global AI governance.

Chinese companies have made rapid progress with models like DeepSeek R1 and Alibaba's Qwen, often offering their systems at a fraction of US costs.

However, US companies retain advantages in hardware like AI chips, GPUs and supercomputers, which Eric argues will “unlock the potential for indigenous African AI systems”.

Meanwhile, the second Trump administration has unveiled a new "commercial diplomacy" strategy for Africa, shifting focus from traditional development aid to expanded trade and private investment, signalling a new era of international relations across the Atlantic Ocean.