Cassava Technologies plans to build Africa’s first AI factory — a powerful and secure data centre facility powered with Nvidia AI computing technology.
The AI Factory is intended to give African businesses, governments and researchers access to AI computing capacity to help them develop smarter AI products, streamline operations and stay competitive in a fast-changing world.
It will provide the supercomputers and software needed to train AI while keeping data within Africa’s borders.
Cassava plans to deploy Nvidia accelerated computing and AI software using Nvidia Cloud Partner (NCP) reference architectures at its data centres in South Africa by June 2025, with expansion planned at its other data centre facilities in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria.
Cassava’s AI Factory will leverage the company’s pan-African high-speed, ultra-low-latency, fibre-optic network with sustainable data centres to deliver AI as a Service (AIaaS).
Cassava’s data centres are designed to be energy efficient, using less electricity to power AI computing workloads.
Nvidia GPU-based supercomputers will power the AI factory, enabling faster AI model training, fine-tuning and advanced inference capabilities. Cassava aims to be the first to introduce these accelerated computing platforms to Africa as an NCP, playing a crucial role in the continent’s AI ecosystem.
“Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution,” says Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Cassava.
“Our AI Factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, startups and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs — and now, they don’t have to look beyond Africa to get it.
“Collaborating with Nvidia gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa’s AI innovation while strengthening the continent’s digital independence.”
Jaap Zuiderveld, vice-president: EMEA at Nvidia, adds: “AI is helping innovators solve our greatest challenges in agriculture, healthcare, energy, financial services and many other industries creating opportunity in Africa.
“As an Nvidia Cloud Partner, Cassava is providing essential infrastructure and software to help pioneering companies and organizations accelerate AI development to foster innovation across the continent.”