The Cloud and Data Centre Revolution in Africa
Compared with other Data Centre markets around the world, Africa is unique in the sense it has a population of over 1.3 billion people and with a total land mass of 30,365,000 km and has the potential to create huge demand for Data Centres and the digital services provided by Data Centre facilities.
To-date only a small portion of the potential demand for African Data Centre space has been met with Africa having a low Data Centre penetration rate compared with other regions.
This report covers details of the of the 62 Data Centres with 139 facilities now present in 26 countries out of the total of 53 countries in Africa (See coverage below).
Datacentrepricing forecasts that the African third-party Data Centre market is set to grow rapidly from 2021 onwards although starting from a low installed base.
The report also looks at the CSPs (Cloud Service Providers), to-date AWS and Microsoft have established their services in Africa the number of cloud users in the region is set to grow sharply according to datacentrepricing's forecasts.
Geographical coverage of African countries with DC presence
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, DRC (the Democratic Republic of Congo), Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
To-date only a small portion of the potential demand for African Data Centre space has been met with Africa having a low Data Centre penetration rate compared with other regions.
This report covers details of the of the 62 Data Centres with 139 facilities now present in 26 countries out of the total of 53 countries in Africa (See coverage below).
Datacentrepricing forecasts that the African third-party Data Centre market is set to grow rapidly from 2021 onwards although starting from a low installed base.
The report also looks at the CSPs (Cloud Service Providers), to-date AWS and Microsoft have established their services in Africa the number of cloud users in the region is set to grow sharply according to datacentrepricing's forecasts.
Geographical coverage of African countries with DC presence
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, DRC (the Democratic Republic of Congo), Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
About Data Centre Pricing (DCP)
Methodology – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution taking place in Africa
Executive Summary – Highlights of The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution taking place in Africa
SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION – THE AFRICA DATA CENTRE LANDSCAPE
1. Mapping the African Continent by region
2. World Economic Forum & World Bank analysis of Africa
3. Fibre connectivity across Africa (domestic & international)
4. Power availability in Africa
5. Sustainable power availability in Africa
6. Cloud services in Africa
7. Data Centres in Africa
SECTION TWO – AFRICA DATA CENTRE COUNTRY MARKETS
North Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the North Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
East Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the East Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
West Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the West Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
Southern Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
The Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the Southern Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
SECTION THREE – PROFILES OF THE KEY DATA CENTRE PLAYERS IN AFRICA
Africa DataCentres (Liquid Telecom) Profile
BCX Data Centre Profile
DataXion Data Centre Profile
EO Data Centre Profile
I-colo Data Centre Profile
IS (Internet Services) Data Centre Profile
MainOne Data Centre Profile
N+ONE Data Center Profile
Rack Centre Data Centre Profile
Telkom Data Centre Profile
Teraco Data Environments Profile
Vodacom Data Centre Profile
SECTION FOUR – CONCLUSIONS AND KEY TRENDS FOR THE CLOUD & DATA CENTRE REVOLUTION IN AFRICA
1. Conclusions – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution in Africa
2. Key Trends – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution in Africa
3. Combined Forecast – African Data Centre space and power from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
4. Forecast – Africa Cloud from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Methodology – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution taking place in Africa
Executive Summary – Highlights of The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution taking place in Africa
SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION – THE AFRICA DATA CENTRE LANDSCAPE
1. Mapping the African Continent by region
2. World Economic Forum & World Bank analysis of Africa
3. Fibre connectivity across Africa (domestic & international)
4. Power availability in Africa
5. Sustainable power availability in Africa
6. Cloud services in Africa
7. Data Centres in Africa
SECTION TWO – AFRICA DATA CENTRE COUNTRY MARKETS
North Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the North Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
East Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the East Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
West Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
Key Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the West Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
Southern Africa Region survey by Country Market
The key Data Centre developments by Country
The Infrastructure developments by Country
Forecast Data Centre developments in the Southern Africa Region (2021 to 2025)
SECTION THREE – PROFILES OF THE KEY DATA CENTRE PLAYERS IN AFRICA
Africa DataCentres (Liquid Telecom) Profile
BCX Data Centre Profile
DataXion Data Centre Profile
EO Data Centre Profile
I-colo Data Centre Profile
IS (Internet Services) Data Centre Profile
MainOne Data Centre Profile
N+ONE Data Center Profile
Rack Centre Data Centre Profile
Telkom Data Centre Profile
Teraco Data Environments Profile
Vodacom Data Centre Profile
SECTION FOUR – CONCLUSIONS AND KEY TRENDS FOR THE CLOUD & DATA CENTRE REVOLUTION IN AFRICA
1. Conclusions – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution in Africa
2. Key Trends – The Cloud & Data Centre Revolution in Africa
3. Combined Forecast – African Data Centre space and power from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
4. Forecast – Africa Cloud from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
LIST OF FIGURES – THE CLOUD AND DATA CENTRE REVOLUTION IN AFRICA
Figure 1: A table showing the foreign currencies used in the report converted into USD
Figure 2: A table summarising the African Data Centre Landscape – forecast as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 3: A chart showing the size of the African Data Centre market compared with other Country Markets - in thousands of m2 forecast as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 4: A table showing Africa’s relative position in the world economy by key metrics
Figure 5: A pie chart showing the breakdown of third-party Data Centre floor space by four African regions - forecast as of the beginning of 2021 in per cent
Figure 6: A pie chart showing the breakdown of African Data Centre business models by numbers of facility in per cent
Figure 7: A table showing the recent Data Centre investments in local African markets
Figure 8: A table showing the new small Data Centre facilities being launched in African Country Markets
Figure 9: A chart showing forecast third-party African Data Centre space (in m2) from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 10: A chart showing forecast third-party African Data Centre Customer Power (DCCP – in MW) from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 11: A table showing the Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) based in Africa as of June 2020
Figure 12: A pie chart showing a breakdown of African Data Centre space by Country Market in per cent as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 13: A chart showing the forecast growth in African cloud service revenues from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 - in millions of USD
Figure 14: A chart showing the amount of third-party Data Centre space divided by population size for selected countries
Figure 15: A table showing the third-party African Data Centres certified by the US UpTime Institute
Figure 16: A table showing the WEF GCI 2020 survey ranking for selected African countries
Figure 17: A table showing the African Countries ranked in the 2019 World Bank Doing Business survey
Figure 18: A table showing the number of servers per million of population for selected African Countries
Figure 19: A diagram showing the Liquid Telecom fibre network including the terrestrial East to West Africa fibre connection
Figure 20: A table showing the new domestic fibre connections available in Africa
Figure 21: A table showing Broadband speeds by selected African Countries with 5 GB film download times
Figure 22: A table showing the mean download speeds for 40 African countries
Figure 23: A table showing the key subsea cable systems connecting Africa
Figure 24: A schematic showing the Equiano subsea cable system
Figure 25: A table showing the percentage of renewable power - as a percentage of total power – by selected African Countries
Figure 26: A table showing standard electricity costs by selected African Country Markets in USD per kWh
Figure 27: A table showing the key African Internet Exchange Points
Figure 28: A picture showing the Loon base station and balloon
Figure 29: A table showing the new Pan-African Data Centre facilities planned in the region
Figure 30: A table showing the key Telecoms Provider Data Centre facilities by African Country
Figure 31: A simplified map showing the Countries in the North Africa Region
Figure 32: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000’s of m2 for the North Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 33: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the North Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 34: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the North Africa Region
Figure 35: A simplified map showing the Countries in the East Africa Region
Figure 36: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000s of m2 for the East Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 37: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the East Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 38: A table showing the new Data Centre developments in the East Africa Region
Figure 39: A simplified map showing the Countries in the West Africa Region
Figure 40: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the West Africa Region
Figure 41: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000s of m2 in the West Africa Region
Figure 42: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW in the West Africa Region
Figure 43: A simplified map showing the Countries in the Southern Africa Region
Figure 44: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000’s of m2 for the Southern Africa Region
Figure 45: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the Southern Africa Region
Figure 46: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the Southern Africa Region
Figure 47: A table showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in m2)
Figure 48: A chart showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in m2)
Figure 49: A table showing the Data Centre Power forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in MW)
Figure 50: A chart showing a Data Centre Power forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in MW)
Figure 51: A chart showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in m2)
Figure 52: A chart showing the Data Centre power forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in MW)
Figure 53: A table showing the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) space forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in per cent per annum)
Figure 54: A table showing the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) power forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in per cent per annum)
Figure 55: A chart showing a cloud computing forecast in Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 in millions of USD per annum
COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THE REPORT
Actis
Accenture
African Data Centre Association (ADCA)
Africa DataCentres
Africell (formerly Orange Uganda)
Airtel
Algerie Telecom
Alibaba
Alphabet (the parent of Google)
Alcatel Submarine Network (ASN)
Altron
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Angola Cables
Angola Telecom
Angola Communication Systems
ASA MS Telecom
Axxess
Botswana Fibre Networks
Botswana Telecoms Corporation
Business Connexion (BCX)
CAMTEL
Cegelec
Cell C
China Communications
China International Telecommunications Construction Corporation (CITCC)
Cloud Exchange West Africa
COMPOST, the Cameroon Postal service
Comtel NBN
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Convergence Partners Investments
CSquared
Dandemutande
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA)
Datacentrix
DataXion
Deloitte
Digital Africa Parks
DimensionData
Djibouti Telecom
Djibouti Data Center
DJIBOUTI INTERNET EXCHANGE (DjIX)
DRC’s National Post & Telecommunications Company
East Africa Data Centre (EADC – now part of Africa DataCentres)
Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP)
Emtel
EO Datacenter
EOH
Eskom
Ethio Telecom
Ethiopia DC (ETDC)
Etisalat
Etix
Evonet
Facebook
Fast Brick Holdings
Fibrecom
First Distribution
Galaxy Backbone
Ghana Internet Exchange
Gijima
GlobalConnect
Google
GPX Global
Huawei
IBM
I-colo
IFC (International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank)
Infratel Corporation
Internet Exchange Pointe Nigeria
Inwi DC
Ipn
Ioco
IS (Internet Services) Data Centres
Islalink &. Liquid Telecom
ITA Data Center
iWayAfrica
Kenya Power
KT Rwanda Networks
Link Data Center (LDC)
Loon
MainOne
Maroc Telecom
MedAfrica Systems
Mettle Solar Africa
Microsoft
Mitsui
Mobinil (Egypt) rebranded to Orange)
MS Telecom
MTN
Mweb
Ngova Etix
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
The Nigeria Internet Exchange (IXPN)
N+One
Northern Africa Power Pool
NSIA Technologies
Obsidian
Ooredoo
Oracle
Orange
Outsourcia
OVH
PAIX (Ghana – RackAfrica)
Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund
PowerTel
Rack Centre
Raxio
Raya DC
Rogers Capital
RSAWEB
Rwandan Utilities Regulation Authority
Safaricom
Seacom
Silicon Overdrive
Somtel (Somalia)
Sonatel Orange
Southern Africa Power Pool
Standard Bank
StorTech
STC Telco Velocity
Synthesis
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd
TCM
Tech Madindra
Telecom Egypt
Telkom Kenya
Telkom South Africa
Teraco Data Environments
Tigo
Tmcel Mozambique
Trans-Sahara
T-Systems
Tunisie Telecom
Vertiv
VMware Cloud
Vodacom
West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX)
West African Power Pool (WAPP)
XON
Xneelo
Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority
Zesco
Zircom
Zuku Fiber
Figure 1: A table showing the foreign currencies used in the report converted into USD
Figure 2: A table summarising the African Data Centre Landscape – forecast as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 3: A chart showing the size of the African Data Centre market compared with other Country Markets - in thousands of m2 forecast as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 4: A table showing Africa’s relative position in the world economy by key metrics
Figure 5: A pie chart showing the breakdown of third-party Data Centre floor space by four African regions - forecast as of the beginning of 2021 in per cent
Figure 6: A pie chart showing the breakdown of African Data Centre business models by numbers of facility in per cent
Figure 7: A table showing the recent Data Centre investments in local African markets
Figure 8: A table showing the new small Data Centre facilities being launched in African Country Markets
Figure 9: A chart showing forecast third-party African Data Centre space (in m2) from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 10: A chart showing forecast third-party African Data Centre Customer Power (DCCP – in MW) from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 11: A table showing the Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) based in Africa as of June 2020
Figure 12: A pie chart showing a breakdown of African Data Centre space by Country Market in per cent as of the beginning of 2021
Figure 13: A chart showing the forecast growth in African cloud service revenues from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 - in millions of USD
Figure 14: A chart showing the amount of third-party Data Centre space divided by population size for selected countries
Figure 15: A table showing the third-party African Data Centres certified by the US UpTime Institute
Figure 16: A table showing the WEF GCI 2020 survey ranking for selected African countries
Figure 17: A table showing the African Countries ranked in the 2019 World Bank Doing Business survey
Figure 18: A table showing the number of servers per million of population for selected African Countries
Figure 19: A diagram showing the Liquid Telecom fibre network including the terrestrial East to West Africa fibre connection
Figure 20: A table showing the new domestic fibre connections available in Africa
Figure 21: A table showing Broadband speeds by selected African Countries with 5 GB film download times
Figure 22: A table showing the mean download speeds for 40 African countries
Figure 23: A table showing the key subsea cable systems connecting Africa
Figure 24: A schematic showing the Equiano subsea cable system
Figure 25: A table showing the percentage of renewable power - as a percentage of total power – by selected African Countries
Figure 26: A table showing standard electricity costs by selected African Country Markets in USD per kWh
Figure 27: A table showing the key African Internet Exchange Points
Figure 28: A picture showing the Loon base station and balloon
Figure 29: A table showing the new Pan-African Data Centre facilities planned in the region
Figure 30: A table showing the key Telecoms Provider Data Centre facilities by African Country
Figure 31: A simplified map showing the Countries in the North Africa Region
Figure 32: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000’s of m2 for the North Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 33: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the North Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 34: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the North Africa Region
Figure 35: A simplified map showing the Countries in the East Africa Region
Figure 36: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000s of m2 for the East Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 37: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the East Africa Region from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025
Figure 38: A table showing the new Data Centre developments in the East Africa Region
Figure 39: A simplified map showing the Countries in the West Africa Region
Figure 40: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the West Africa Region
Figure 41: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000s of m2 in the West Africa Region
Figure 42: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW in the West Africa Region
Figure 43: A simplified map showing the Countries in the Southern Africa Region
Figure 44: A table showing forecast Country Market raised floor space in ‘000’s of m2 for the Southern Africa Region
Figure 45: A table showing forecast Country Market DCCP in MW for the Southern Africa Region
Figure 46: A table showing the key new Data Centre developments in the Southern Africa Region
Figure 47: A table showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in m2)
Figure 48: A chart showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in m2)
Figure 49: A table showing the Data Centre Power forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in MW)
Figure 50: A chart showing a Data Centre Power forecast for Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 (in MW)
Figure 51: A chart showing the Data Centre space forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in m2)
Figure 52: A chart showing the Data Centre power forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in MW)
Figure 53: A table showing the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) space forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in per cent per annum)
Figure 54: A table showing the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) power forecast for Africa (broken down by North, East, West & Southern Regions) from the beginning of 2021 to 2025 (in per cent per annum)
Figure 55: A chart showing a cloud computing forecast in Africa from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2025 in millions of USD per annum
COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THE REPORT
Actis
Accenture
African Data Centre Association (ADCA)
Africa DataCentres
Africell (formerly Orange Uganda)
Airtel
Algerie Telecom
Alibaba
Alphabet (the parent of Google)
Alcatel Submarine Network (ASN)
Altron
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Angola Cables
Angola Telecom
Angola Communication Systems
ASA MS Telecom
Axxess
Botswana Fibre Networks
Botswana Telecoms Corporation
Business Connexion (BCX)
CAMTEL
Cegelec
Cell C
China Communications
China International Telecommunications Construction Corporation (CITCC)
Cloud Exchange West Africa
COMPOST, the Cameroon Postal service
Comtel NBN
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Convergence Partners Investments
CSquared
Dandemutande
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA)
Datacentrix
DataXion
Deloitte
Digital Africa Parks
DimensionData
Djibouti Telecom
Djibouti Data Center
DJIBOUTI INTERNET EXCHANGE (DjIX)
DRC’s National Post & Telecommunications Company
East Africa Data Centre (EADC – now part of Africa DataCentres)
Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP)
Emtel
EO Datacenter
EOH
Eskom
Ethio Telecom
Ethiopia DC (ETDC)
Etisalat
Etix
Evonet
Fast Brick Holdings
Fibrecom
First Distribution
Galaxy Backbone
Ghana Internet Exchange
Gijima
GlobalConnect
GPX Global
Huawei
IBM
I-colo
IFC (International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank)
Infratel Corporation
Internet Exchange Pointe Nigeria
Inwi DC
Ipn
Ioco
IS (Internet Services) Data Centres
Islalink &. Liquid Telecom
ITA Data Center
iWayAfrica
Kenya Power
KT Rwanda Networks
Link Data Center (LDC)
Loon
MainOne
Maroc Telecom
MedAfrica Systems
Mettle Solar Africa
Microsoft
Mitsui
Mobinil (Egypt) rebranded to Orange)
MS Telecom
MTN
Mweb
Ngova Etix
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
The Nigeria Internet Exchange (IXPN)
N+One
Northern Africa Power Pool
NSIA Technologies
Obsidian
Ooredoo
Oracle
Orange
Outsourcia
OVH
PAIX (Ghana – RackAfrica)
Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund
PowerTel
Rack Centre
Raxio
Raya DC
Rogers Capital
RSAWEB
Rwandan Utilities Regulation Authority
Safaricom
Seacom
Silicon Overdrive
Somtel (Somalia)
Sonatel Orange
Southern Africa Power Pool
Standard Bank
StorTech
STC Telco Velocity
Synthesis
Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd
TCM
Tech Madindra
Telecom Egypt
Telkom Kenya
Telkom South Africa
Teraco Data Environments
Tigo
Tmcel Mozambique
Trans-Sahara
T-Systems
Tunisie Telecom
Vertiv
VMware Cloud
Vodacom
West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX)
West African Power Pool (WAPP)
XON
Xneelo
Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority
Zesco
Zircom
Zuku Fiber
