Top 10 African Countries by Number of Data Centres, 2025

In Summary

• Over 150 data centers are active across Africa in 2025, with South Africa holding more than one-third of all verified facilities. This position gives it unmatched cloud dominance on the continent.
• Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, and Tanzania now form Africa’s fastest-expanding mid-tier markets for cloud-ready infrastructure, strengthening their roles as regional digital hubs.
• Verified counts exclude planned builds and focus only on operational, carrier-neutral, enterprise, and Tier-certified facilities, ensuring an accurate picture of real capacity.
• Hyperscale projects, Tier III/IV data centers, and expanding submarine cable routes continue to reshape demand across the continent.
  

Deep Dive!!

Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, November 25 - Data centers are gradually rising to become Africa’s quietest yet most decisive indicators of economic strength. The continent’s facility count has grown faster in the last five years than in any previous period. This acceleration is driven by cloud adoption, financial services, e-commerce expansion, and the steady rise of local content hosting.

What was once a peripheral part of the tech ecosystem is now central to how African businesses operate and scale. This growth is also driven by new submarine cables and stronger regional fibre routes, alongside rising investment in Tier III and hyperscale-ready facilities.

These developments have pushed several African countries into positions where they now support workloads that previously depended on Europe or the Gulf. 

The shift is not just theoretical, as we can also notice improvements in availability and processing capacity beyond measurable levels. As these capabilities expand, understanding which markets lead this transformation becomes essential.

This ranking focuses on the 10 African countries with the most operational data centers according to Statista November 2025.

Before the list begins, it’s important to note that the ranking is based strictly on verified operational facilities only, excluding planned or uncompleted builds.

The goal is to show where core digital infrastructure currently exists, why these markets matter, and how each country is shaping Africa’s broader technology landscape.

10. Senegal

Senegal has established itself as a key West African hub for digital infrastructure, largely concentrated in Dakar, the capital and primary economic centre. As of November 2025, Senegal hosts seven operational data centres, ranging from smaller colocation facilities to mid-sized enterprise-ready sites. Among the most prominent are the Digicel Dakar Data Centre, Orange Sonatel’s Dakar campus, and the Xalam Data Hub, which together represent the backbone of Senegal’s digital hosting ecosystem. These facilities are fully operational, offering Tier II and Tier III capacities, and they support enterprise workloads, network infrastructure, and cloud services for both domestic and regional customers.

The government of Senegal has played an active role in shaping the data-centre landscape. Regulatory frameworks encourage private investment while ensuring oversight, and the telecommunications regulator, ARTP, maintains clear licensing and interconnection guidelines. This support has helped operators like Orange, Xalam, and other regional carriers establish carrier-neutral facilities. Senegal’s approach is generally open to foreign and private investment, and public-private partnerships have facilitated smoother development of cable landing stations and data-centre campuses, offering predictable timelines for commissioning new sites.

Connectivity is a core strength of Senegal’s market. Dakar is a landing point for multiple submarine cables, including ACE, SAT-3, MainOne, and the 2Africa cable,  creating redundancy and low-latency routing across West Africa. These connections allow Senegalese data centres to support not only local enterprises but also regional networks across francophone West Africa. Facilities such as the Xalam Data Hub and Digicel Dakar have established dense interconnection points, enabling peering and the exchange of network traffic among multiple carriers and cloud providers. This connectivity positions Senegal as a regional gateway, where smaller West African markets can host workloads without relying on Europe or other distant locations.

Operationally, Senegal’s data centres serve a variety of functions. The Orange Sonatel campus focuses on enterprise hosting and national telco network support, including storage, disaster recovery, and cloud-ready services for government and corporate clients. The Digicel Dakar Data Centre prioritises carrier-neutral colocation and edge network services, offering smaller enterprises access to reliable hosting infrastructure. Xalam Data Hub, one of the newest mid-sized facilities, combines enterprise colocation with cloud interconnection capabilities, supporting both domestic and international traffic. Together, these facilities form an ecosystem that allows enterprises to host applications locally, improve latency, and maintain data sovereignty while benefiting from regional redundancy.

Despite these strengths, Senegal’s market faces certain constraints. Energy costs and supply reliability remain moderate challenges, particularly for facilities requiring multi-megawatt capacity. Skilled operational staff for Tier III or hyperscale environments are in shorter supply, which can affect maintenance and uptime consistency. Wholesale financing and investment for larger expansions are still emerging, which is why most current facilities are mid-sized rather than hyperscale. However, the government’s clear regulatory approach and ongoing public-private infrastructure partnerships mitigate these limitations, ensuring a stable environment for operators and customers alike.

Looking ahead, Senegal’s pipeline includes several expansions that will further enhance capacity and regional influence. The planned PAIX Dakar campus, with an estimated 1.2 MW capacity, is expected to introduce enterprise-grade, cloud-ready facilities by 2026. When completed, it will allow Senegal to handle higher-density workloads and compete more directly with regional hubs such as Nigeria and Kenya. For now, the existing seven operational data centres provide sufficient capacity for the country’s enterprise, government, and network infrastructure needs, and they form the foundation of Senegal’s strategic role as a West African interconnection hub.

Senegal may have the lowest number of data centres among Africa’s top ten markets, but the quality, connectivity, and strategic placement of its facilities give it outsized regional importance. These centres demonstrate how a smaller market can leverage location, regulatory support, and targeted investment to support enterprise and network operations across the sub-region, making Senegal an essential node in West Africa’s growing digital infrastructure landscape.

9. Angola

Angola’s data-centre landscape is shaped by its position as a resource-driven economy with a concentration of corporate and financial activity in Luanda. As of November 2025, the country hosts eight operational data centres, most of which are strategically aligned with the needs of petroleum companies, banks, and multinational enterprises rather than general consumer hosting. This makes Angola unique in Africa. Its digital infrastructure is not just about raw capacity, but about providing high-reliability environments for sectors where uptime is critical, and latency-sensitive operations, such as oil exploration data and corporate financial services, dominate the demand profile.

The largest and most influential facilities include the Unitel Data Centre, operated by the country’s leading telecommunications provider, and the NetOne Luanda Hub, which focuses on enterprise colocation and government workloads. These centres are built to Tier II and Tier III standards, featuring redundant power and cooling systems, secure access protocols, and high-density server halls. They cater to enterprise clients requiring private networks, storage, and cloud access while ensuring operational resilience in a market where electricity reliability can fluctuate. Angola’s data centres are therefore engineered to meet very specific functional requirements, differentiating them from more general-purpose facilities in other African countries.

Government policy has progressively opened licensing for private investment, easing the path for foreign operators while maintaining oversight of national data and security interests. Targeted incentives for energy and connectivity infrastructure have further modernized the digital ecosystem. Compared with Senegal’s more mixed enterprise and carrier-neutral model, Angola’s market remains sharply corporate-focused, emphasizing reliability and security for high-value sectors.

Connectivity is both a strength and a constraint. Luanda benefits from SAT-3/WASC and ACE submarine cables connecting it to Europe and West Africa. Inland fibre infrastructure is less developed, concentrating data-centre activity along the coast and in urban centres, particularly Luanda. This results in facilities strategically serving corporate headquarters, banking institutions, and resource-sector clients rather than a dispersed national network. Limited inland fibre also means that data replication and disaster recovery are often regional, relying on multiple local centres rather than long-distance fibre loops.

Angola’s data centres are operationally diverse. Unitel’s campus integrates enterprise cloud hosting with network switching capabilities, serving large corporate clients and telco interconnection needs. NetOne Luanda Hub focuses on secure government and banking workloads, with ISO-compliant security standards and energy redundancy critical to maintaining uptime. Smaller facilities provide colocation services for mid-sized businesses and regional subsidiaries of multinational companies. Collectively, these eight centres provide the backbone for Angola’s digital operations, from cloud services to corporate connectivity, in an environment where operational reliability and security are paramount.

Energy management remains a defining feature of Angola’s market. While national grids have improved, many data centres rely heavily on backup diesel generators and uninterruptible power systems (UPS) to maintain uptime. Operators have increasingly invested in hybrid solutions, including solar and battery storage, to improve efficiency while maintaining reliability. These strategies make Angola’s data centres highly resilient in a market where downtime carries significant financial risk.

Looking forward, Angola’s data-centre sector is expected to expand gradually, focusing on high-density, enterprise-oriented facilities for banking, oil and gas, and corporate sectors. Growth will remain centered in Luanda before inland expansion is feasible, supported by incremental upgrades in fibre and energy infrastructure. Despite the relatively small number of operational centres compared to Africa’s largest markets, Angola’s data-centre ecosystem is highly specialized and strategically aligned with the continent’s most critical industries. By combining high-reliability design, enterprise-focused operations, and targeted regulatory support, Angola has created a model of demand-driven digital infrastructure in Africa where quality, resilience, and specialized service outweigh sheer scale.

8. Ghana

Ghana has emerged as a critical hub for digital infrastructure in West Africa, operating 8 active data centres as of November 2025. These facilities are strategically located in Accra and its surrounding areas, reflecting the city’s role as both the political and commercial capital. Unlike some regional markets that focus solely on scale, Ghana’s data centres emphasize reliability, connectivity, and compliance, making them attractive for enterprises, cloud providers, and government agencies alike. Investments in redundancy, security, and interconnection underscore the country’s commitment to robust digital infrastructure.

Among the most prominent facilities is MainOne’s MDXi Data Centre in Appolonia, a Tier III certified site designed for resilience and operational continuity. The centre features dual power feeds, N+1 cooling redundancy, advanced fire suppression, and private suites for enterprise clients. It offers open access to multiple telecommunications providers, enabling seamless connectivity to international submarine cables and regional internet exchanges. Similarly, Onix Data Centre in Accra provides Tier IV-level reliability and caters to high-security operations for financial institutions and regulated enterprises. Together, MDXi and Onix complement each other by serving both general enterprise workloads and highly regulated, security-sensitive operations, strengthening Ghana’s role as a regional digital gateway.

The regulatory environment in Ghana supports the growth of data centres. Government policies, such as the Digital Economy Policy Strategy, incentivize investment in critical infrastructure, encourage local hosting of sensitive data, and maintain frameworks for data security and compliance. Operators benefit from a predictable legal landscape while contributing to the broader digital economy. Ghana’s network connectivity is also strong: the country is connected to multiple submarine cable systems, ensuring low-latency links to Europe, North America, and other African markets. National internet exchanges further enhance regional interconnection, allowing data centres to serve as hubs for both domestic and cross-border digital traffic.

Energy and operational strategy are central to Ghana’s data-centre model. Facilities rely on hybrid power systems and redundant infrastructure to mitigate grid instability, ensuring enterprise and government clients experience uninterrupted service. This combination of energy redundancy, network connectivity, and regulatory support enables Ghanaian data centres to reliably host cloud platforms, financial transaction systems, and enterprise storage, while also serving as points for regional interconnection and data aggregation.

Collectively, Ghana’s 8 active data centres illustrate a deliberate approach to sustainable and high-performance infrastructure. While the country does not yet match the scale of leaders like South Africa or Nigeria, its focus on reliability, connectivity, compliance, and regional utility positions it as a cornerstone of West Africa’s digital ecosystem. Ghana’s data-centre landscape is not just functional; it is increasingly shaping regional data flows, supporting enterprise growth, and enabling governments and businesses to participate effectively in the digital economy.

7. Mauritius

Mauritius’s position as a strategic axis in the Indian Ocean has made its data-centre sector disproportionately influential for its size. As of November 2025, the country hosts 10 operational data centres, concentrated in Port Louis, Quatre Bornes, Reduit, and Rose Belle. These centres serve a mix of financial institutions, multinational enterprises, cloud providers, and regional content networks. Rather than simply storing data, they act as critical nodes for regional interconnection, cross-border cloud services, and disaster-recovery operations, reflecting the island’s ambition to function as a secure digital gateway between Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Mauritius’s data centres are structured to meet high operational standards. Key facilities, such as Harel Mallac Technologies’ Tier III data centre, are built with dual power feeds, N+1 cooling redundancy, and multiple carrier-neutral connections, supporting 24/7 uptime for enterprise and financial workloads. Rogers Capital operates several high-availability sites with robust disaster-recovery configurations, directly supporting enterprise continuity and cloud replication across the region. These centres are typically designed to handle mixed workloads including colocation, storage, cloud access, network equipment, and regulated data for financial institutions rather than ultra-hyperscale operations, allowing them to remain highly reliable and service-oriented.

Connectivity underpins Mauritius’s role as a digital hub. The country is linked to multiple submarine cables, including SAFE, LION/LION2, and METISS, providing low-latency connections to Africa, Europe, and Asia. High-capacity fibre networks link all major urban and industrial areas, while local internet exchange points facilitate efficient peering and regional traffic distribution. Operators leverage these links to provide resilience and redundancy, ensuring uninterrupted service even during regional disruptions. This connectivity enables Mauritius’s data centres to host regional cloud infrastructure for multinational companies, content delivery networks, and financial transaction platforms with consistent reliability.

The regulatory and policy environment is intentionally supportive of digital infrastructure. The Digital Blueprint 2025 encourages local hosting of critical data, prioritizes cybersecurity compliance, and incentivizes private investment in resilient data-centre infrastructure. The Data Protection Act provides a clear legal framework for personal and corporate data, closely aligned with GDPR standards, enhancing trust for international clients. Combined, these measures make Mauritius an attractive destination for companies seeking a stable, compliant, and well-governed operational base in the Indian Ocean region.

Energy and operational costs remain a key challenge. Electricity is relatively expensive, so operators rely on efficiency measures, hybrid power strategies, and backup generators. The government’s target to expand renewable energy to 60% by 2030 is expected to improve cost efficiency and long-term sustainability.

Mauritius’s 10 data centres collectively illustrate a small but highly strategic market. Their combination of reliable operations, strong regulatory support, robust connectivity, and operational sophistication allows the island to serve not only local enterprises but also regional cloud deployments, disaster recovery, and interconnection services. While not yet a hyperscale hotspot, Mauritius functions as a dependable, well-governed, and connected digital hub, with facilities that are fully aligned with enterprise and cross-border operational requirements.

6. Tanzania

Tanzania’s data-centre landscape has expanded steadily, reflecting the country’s growing digital economy and regional connectivity ambitions. As of November 2025, Tanzania operates 11 active data centres, primarily located in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Dodoma. These facilities support a diverse range of users, including telecommunications operators, financial institutions, cloud service providers, and enterprise clients requiring colocation, storage, and disaster-recovery solutions. The data centres play a critical role in ensuring operational continuity for businesses and government agencies, while also facilitating interconnection with East African fibre and submarine cable systems.

Leading operators include TTCL, which maintains large Tier II and Tier III facilities supporting both carrier and enterprise services, and Liquid Telecom, which provides high-capacity colocation and network services across multiple sites. International providers such as MainOne have also entered the market, offering cloud connectivity and managed services, further strengthening Tanzania’s digital infrastructure. These facilities are equipped with redundant power systems, N+1 cooling, and high-capacity networking, allowing them to sustain enterprise-grade workloads while maintaining regulatory compliance and service-level agreements.

Tanzania benefits from substantial connectivity through terrestrial fibre and international submarine cables, including SEACOM and EASSy, linking the country to Europe, Asia, and other parts of Africa. Many of these data centres are integrated with local internet exchange points (IXPs), enhancing network efficiency and providing operators with the ability to manage regional traffic effectively. While strong, Tanzania’s connectivity is less dense than Kenya’s, making it reliable but somewhat more regionally concentrated. This connectivity supports a mix of critical applications, including online banking, cloud services, government data hosting, and content distribution.

The Tanzanian government has been actively promoting digital infrastructure, encouraging private-sector investment, and streamlining regulatory processes. Policies focus on cybersecurity, data-protection compliance, and incentives for renewable-energy adoption, complementing the operational strategies adopted by facility operators.

Tanzania’s 11 data centres collectively form a resilient and diverse network capable of supporting enterprise and government needs. By combining technical reliability, regulatory clarity, and connectivity across key cities, these facilities are integral to Tanzania’s growing digital ecosystem, providing both operational continuity and regional data-management capacity. The sector continues to evolve, with ongoing investments in capacity expansion, interconnection, and service diversification, positioning the country as a significant player in East Africa’s digital infrastructure landscape.

5. Morocco

Morocco’s data-centre sector has developed with a distinct continental and international orientation, reflecting the country’s role as a digital gateway between Africa and Europe. As of November 2025, Morocco hosts 12 active data centres, concentrated in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech.

Unlike many African markets, Morocco’s data centres are designed not only for domestic enterprise needs but also to serve cross-continental traffic, supporting financial services, government operations, cloud services, and content distribution to Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. This positioning gives Morocco a unique advantage in managing Europe-Africa data flows, making it a preferred hub for multinational enterprises seeking reliable transcontinental routes.

Key operators in Morocco include Inwi, which maintains carrier-neutral facilities offering Tier III colocation and disaster recovery solutions, and Orange Morocco, whose centres are designed to handle large-scale enterprise and cloud workloads. International players such as Interxion and Equinix have invested in Moroccan sites to leverage the country’s strategic proximity to European markets. These facilities are equipped with multiple redundant power feeds, advanced cooling systems, and extensive fibre interconnections, allowing operators to guarantee uptime and compliance with service-level agreements for sensitive financial and governmental workloads.

Morocco’s connectivity is one of its most distinguishing features. The country is linked to multiple submarine cables Atlas Offshore, SAFE, and MedCable providing direct, low-latency access to Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East. Fibre networks between Casablanca, Rabat, and regional cities are highly developed, enabling seamless domestic and regional interconnection. Several Moroccan data centres are also integrated with local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), improving latency for regional traffic and enabling efficient peering for both domestic and international content delivery networks. This connectivity makes Morocco a natural point for cross-border data flows and a preferred location for multinational enterprises seeking reliable Europe-Africa routes.

Government policy has actively shaped the sector’s development. The Moroccan Digital Strategy 2025 emphasizes secure, scalable, and sustainable data infrastructure, while the Data Protection Law (Law 09-08) ensures compliance with international privacy standards. These measures attract both domestic and international investment, fostering a climate of predictability and legal certainty for operators. The government also incentivizes energy-efficient operations, encouraging data centres to adopt hybrid energy systems and modern cooling solutions to mitigate costs and environmental impact — a critical consideration given Morocco’s reliance on imported energy and water resources.

Capacity and workload specialization distinguish Morocco from many other African markets. Centres are designed to host financial institutions’ core systems, cloud platforms, government databases, and enterprise-grade disaster recovery. Moroccan data centres are increasingly supporting cross-border cloud services and distributed storage, providing secure interconnection for European and African enterprises. Operational strategies often include multi-tier redundancy, automated failover systems, and scalable rack configurations to accommodate dynamic demand from both domestic and international clients.

Overall, Morocco’s 12 data centres illustrate a market that combines operational sophistication, international connectivity, and regulatory clarity. These facilities actively manage traffic between Africa and Europe, enable enterprise continuity, and support government and financial sector digitization. The integration of high-capacity networks, strict compliance frameworks, and advanced operational practices ensures Morocco’s position as a distinctive and reliable data-centre market on the continent.

4. Egypt

Egypt has emerged as a key player in Africa’s digital infrastructure, leveraging its strategic location at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. As of November 2025, the country operates 13 active data centres, primarily concentrated in Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza. Egypt’s data centres are unique in their dual role: serving robust domestic demand from enterprises, banks, and government institutions, while also acting as critical nodes for international connectivity, particularly for submarine cables transiting the Mediterranean. This combination positions Egypt as a primary interconnection point for traffic between Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, with one of the continent’s highest cable densities enhancing its strategic role.

Key operators in Egypt include Telecom Egypt, which maintains several large-scale, Tier III facilities offering colocation, cloud-ready infrastructure, and disaster recovery solutions. Giza Systems and Orange Egypt operate additional Tier II and Tier III sites, supporting enterprise workloads, data storage, and government-hosted applications. Many of these centres are carrier-neutral, allowing multiple operators to interconnect, which fosters resilience and enables efficient traffic management for high-demand applications such as banking systems, e-commerce, and enterprise cloud deployments. International investors have also entered the market, attracted by Egypt’s large population, strong enterprise demand, and regulatory frameworks that support private-sector participation.

Egypt’s connectivity infrastructure is among the continent’s most developed. The country is linked to over a dozen submarine cables, including SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4, and FLAG, providing redundant, low-latency connections to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Data centres are integrated with local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) such as Cairo IX, which improve traffic efficiency and reduce dependency on international transit for domestic exchanges. Operators leverage these connections for cloud replication, disaster recovery, content delivery, and interconnection services for regional enterprises. This strategic positioning allows Egypt’s data centres to serve as effective relay points for multinational operations spanning multiple continents.

Regulatory support has been crucial in developing Egypt’s data-centre ecosystem. The government’s Digital Egypt 2030 initiative emphasizes secure, scalable, and energy-efficient infrastructure, while the Personal Data Protection Law (2020) ensures compliance with international privacy standards. Incentives for renewable-energy adoption and tax benefits for ICT infrastructure investments further encourage expansion and modernization of data-centre operations. Operators balance energy efficiency with reliability, often integrating hybrid energy solutions, redundant power feeds, and advanced cooling technologies to maintain uptime in a high-demand environment.

Egyptian data centres are characterized by operational diversity. Facilities host financial transaction systems, cloud platforms, storage arrays, content delivery services, and critical government applications. Many centres employ multi-tier redundancy, automated failover protocols, and scalable rack architectures to accommodate dynamic workloads. Their capacity to handle sensitive, high-traffic applications makes them essential to both national operations and regional interconnectivity. Combined with regulatory clarity and extensive fibre and cable networks, these centres establish Egypt as a market-leading provider of secure, reliable, and high-performance digital infrastructure in North Africa.

3. Kenya

Kenya’s data-centre sector reflects the country’s role as a regional digital powerhouse in East Africa, combining robust domestic demand with strategic connectivity for international traffic. As of November 2025, Kenya operates 20 active data centres, primarily concentrated in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu. These facilities serve a diverse mix of users, including telecommunications companies, financial institutions, cloud providers, government agencies, and multinational enterprises. Rising demand for edge-cloud services and fintech applications is a major driver of this growth, reinforcing Kenya’s position as a hub for innovation and regional interconnection.

Leading operators include Safaricom, whose Tier III data centres support enterprise applications, cloud services, and disaster recovery, and Liquid Telecom Kenya, which operates carrier-neutral facilities capable of handling high-volume colocation and network interconnection. International players, such as MainOne and IBM Cloud, have also established operations, enhancing Kenya’s capacity to host global cloud workloads and financial transactions. Facilities are designed with redundant power systems, advanced cooling, and extensive networking infrastructure, enabling them to maintain high availability for critical applications such as mobile banking, e-government services, and e-commerce platforms.

Kenya’s connectivity infrastructure is among the continent’s most advanced. The country hosts multiple submarine cables landing in Mombasa, including TEAMS, SEACOM, and EASSy, providing high-capacity, low-latency connections to Europe, Asia, and the rest of Africa. These facilities are often linked to local Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) such as Nairobi IX, allowing operators to efficiently manage regional traffic and reduce dependence on international bandwidth for domestic exchanges. High-speed fibre networks connecting Nairobi to other major cities further enhance Kenya’s internal digital resilience, enabling distributed enterprise systems and cross-regional cloud operations.

Government and regulatory frameworks play a pivotal role in Kenya’s data-centre growth. The ICT Authority of Kenya promotes infrastructure investment and enforces standards on security, energy efficiency, and data protection, while the Data Protection Act (2019) ensures compliance with privacy requirements. Policies also support private-sector expansion through incentives for renewable-energy adoption and streamlined licensing processes, which is particularly relevant given the energy-intensive nature of large-scale data-centre operations. Operators combine these regulatory advantages with technical innovation, using hybrid power solutions, N+1 cooling redundancy, and scalable infrastructure to maintain operational reliability.

Kenya’s 20 data centres are functionally diverse. They host enterprise workloads, mobile money platforms, cloud services, content distribution networks, and government applications, making them indispensable to the country’s digital ecosystem. Operational strategies emphasize redundancy, security, and interconnection, enabling seamless service delivery even under peak demand. Combined with extensive submarine and terrestrial connectivity, Kenya’s facilities establish the country as a regional leader in digital infrastructure, supporting both national ambitions and East African interconnectivity initiatives.

2. Nigeria

Nigeria’s data-centre ecosystem reflects its position as Africa’s largest economy and the region’s primary digital engine. As of November 2025, the country operates 21 active data centres, predominantly in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. These facilities are pivotal in managing high-volume enterprise operations, cloud deployments, and critical government infrastructure. They also serve as interconnection points for West African traffic, linking domestic networks to regional and global routes.

Operators in Nigeria demonstrate significant diversity. Rack Centre, one of the continent’s first Tier III-certified data centres, provides high-availability colocation services and hosts financial institutions, cloud platforms, and multinational enterprise workloads. MainOne Data Centre, strategically located in Lagos, supports hyperscale cloud deployments, offering direct connectivity to submarine cables such as MainOne, Glo-1, and WACS, ensuring low-latency access to Europe and other West African markets. Telecom operators like MTN Nigeria and 9mobile also operate carrier-neutral facilities that interconnect multiple ISPs, cloud providers, and corporate clients, enhancing redundancy and traffic resilience. This multi-operator presence encourages competitive pricing, advanced service offerings, and the adoption of best practices in infrastructure management. Nigeria’s sheer scale gives it an advantage in market coverage, while South Africa’s data centres demonstrate higher operational sophistication, a contrast that sets up the leading market in Africa.

Connectivity infrastructure underpins Nigeria’s data-centre operations. Lagos functions as a landing point for several submarine cables, making it a key gateway for West African digital traffic. Facilities are integrated with the IXPN (Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria), reducing dependency on international transit for domestic and regional traffic. Extensive fibre networks link data centres to other commercial hubs, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano, enabling distributed cloud architectures, enterprise continuity, and low-latency service delivery. Operators often leverage redundant backbone connections, multi-path routing, and edge deployment strategies to maintain service reliability across Nigeria’s high-demand digital landscape.

Regulatory and government frameworks have actively shaped the sector. The Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) enforces standards for privacy and security, aligning data-centre operations with global compliance norms. Simultaneously, incentives for ICT investment, including tax breaks and streamlined approvals, have encouraged private and foreign investment. Energy reliability remains a critical focus; operators frequently deploy hybrid power systems combining grid supply, diesel backup, and increasingly solar solutions to guarantee uptime in a market with intermittent power challenges. Advanced cooling and energy management technologies are standard in Tier III and IV facilities, supporting high-density racks and hyperscale cloud workloads.

Operationally, Nigerian data centres host an array of critical services. Banking and fintech platforms rely on them for real-time transaction processing, cloud providers for scalable storage and computing, enterprises for ERP and CRM systems, and government agencies for secure administrative platforms. Facilities integrate multi-level redundancy, automated failover systems, and strict security protocols to manage sensitive, high-traffic workloads. Combined with robust connectivity, diverse operator presence, and regulatory clarity, Nigeria’s 21 data centres position the country as the most significant West African digital infrastructure market, offering both resilience and strategic regional interconnectivity.

1. South Africa

South Africa remains the continent’s most advanced and diversified data-centre market, boasting 56 active data centres as of November 2025. The sector is heavily concentrated in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, with facilities serving financial institutions, cloud providers, government agencies, telecom operators, and multinational enterprises. South Africa’s data centres are recognized for their high operational standards, redundancy, and connectivity, positioning the country as a critical digital gateway for southern Africa. It is also the only African country hosting all major hyperscalers, reinforcing its top position on the continent.

Operators in South Africa include Teraco, the continent’s largest carrier-neutral data-centre operator, which hosts hyperscale deployments, enterprise colocation, and network interconnection services across multiple facilities in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. Teraco’s data centres are connected to over 100 local and international networks, enabling seamless peering, redundancy, and traffic optimization. Telecom operators like MTN South Africa, Vodacom, and Internet Solutions (Dimension Data) operate additional facilities, catering to enterprise, government, and cloud workloads. International players such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud have also established regional presence, taking advantage of South Africa’s advanced infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and connectivity.

South Africa’s connectivity infrastructure is a defining feature. Johannesburg serves as a major hub for terrestrial fibre networks linking the country’s key commercial centres, while Cape Town and Durban provide direct access to multiple submarine cables connecting southern Africa to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Facilities often integrate with Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), such as JINX and CINX, to optimize traffic routing and reduce latency for regional and international communication.

Government and regulatory frameworks support data-centre expansion while emphasizing reliability and security. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) governs data privacy, aligning facilities with global standards. Incentives for investment in energy-efficient infrastructure, including support for renewable energy adoption, encourage operators to implement hybrid power solutions. South Africa’s regulatory clarity, coupled with strong institutional support, provides both domestic and international operators with the confidence to deploy large-scale, high-capacity data centres.

Functionally, South Africa’s 56 data centres serve diverse operational roles. They host enterprise workloads, cloud infrastructure, content delivery networks, government platforms, financial transaction processing, and disaster recovery solutions. Facilities are designed for high availability, with redundant power, multi-path connectivity, and advanced cooling systems to support dense compute environments. By combining operational sophistication, connectivity, and regulatory alignment, South Africa stands as Africa’s foremost data-centre market, driving digital adoption both nationally and regionally while providing a blueprint for resilient and scalable infrastructure across the continent.

Collectively, these leading African data-centre markets are shaping the continent’s digital future. They enable cloud adoption, support AI and fintech innovations, and facilitate regional content distribution, ensuring that African enterprises and governments can operate with greater efficiency, security, and resilience. Looking ahead, emerging markets such as Ethiopia and Rwanda are poised to attract investment and expand their digital infrastructure, making them important countries to watch in the coming years.