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Data centres undoubtedly represent enormous opportunity in Africa as demand for seamless network connectivity continues to rise on the continent and around the world. Advances in engineering, technology and sustainability make it possible to overcome some of the historical barriers to growth and capitalise on this trend, says Craig Blankers, Director: Acting Sector Lead, WSP in Africa. This is Part 1 of a two-part series.
On the African continent, urbanisation, population growth and the ongoing expansion of 3G, 4G and 5G networks are major drivers of the data centre boom, as more and more people connect to the Internet. Internationally, the speed of change in the industry and the catalytic advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other high-density technologies demand a vast amount of processing power to run – and that’s changing how data centres are designed and built.
Revenue in Africa’s data centre market is projected to reach US$6.47 billion within this year and is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.18% by 2029, resulting in a market volume of US$9.15 billion. Though impressive, this growth is minimal when compared to global market predictions of 8.45% CAGR and a market volume of US$624.10 billion by 2029.
Factors including limited infrastructure, slow digital transformation, and lack of awareness about the benefits of data centres, and advances in engineering and technology, play a role in these slow growth predictions. Yet, according to the Africa Data Centres Association, Africa alone needs 1000MW and 700 facilities to meet growing demand. And investment is starting to come through.
Despite recent investments in data centre infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, much of the continent’s capacity remains in South Africa, where the market comprises of 408MW. Nigeria and Egypt follow with 140MW and 118MW respectively. Kenya is making strides as well, with 79MW, while Morocco closes out the top five with 65MW of supply. With traditional data centre hubs like Amsterdam and Dublin now facing acute land and capacity constraints, and increasingly restrictive policies for data centres development, hyperscalers and operators are beginning to expand into different regions, presenting an opportunity for African locations like these.
The energy conundrum
The reliability of municipal power supplies remains a big challenge. The higher computing power needed – and therefore additional cooling power required – by facilities running AI demands reliable energy supply, not to mention flexible innovative solutions for reliable operations and enhanced performance. Many African countries have unstable, coal-intensive grids and strategic power outages intended to reduce peak demand. Because data centres need power to stay operational 24/7/365, reliance on onsite back-up generation is often the (expensive) norm.
