Liquid C2, a business of Cassava Technologies, has launched Africa’s first Partner Experience Centre powered by Google Cloud in Johannesburg.
The facility is designed to empower partners and resellers to move beyond traditional distribution, providing the immersive, hands-on environment needed to architect and deploy cloud and AI solutions tailored specifically to African market needs.
Through the centre, partners will be onboarded to a structured journey that guides them in securing official Google Cloud accreditation and certification.
Beyond technical training provided by both Liquid C2 and Google, the centre will also serve as a collaborative hub, allowing them to work alongside specialist engineers to architect bespoke solutions.
Once finalised, these solutions will be brought to market through Liquid’s robust distribution network.
Hardy Pemhiwa, president and CEO of Cassava Technologies, says the Liquid Google Cloud Experience Centre will help to make AI available in Africa.
“This is the first cloud and AI experience centre of its kind – not just South Africa, but on the African continent,” he says. “We are telling customers to bring us their problems, we’ll workshop them together and you can see the solution in realtime.”
Strive Masiyiwa, founder and executive chairman of Cassava Technologies, believes the time for talking about AI is over. “AI is not going to happen because we talk it into being,” he says. “it will happen because we as businesses and policy-makers act and invest in put in place the infrastructure that will provide the digital rails for it to happen.”
He says the opening of the Experience Centre and the upcoming launch of the company’s AI factory in Cape Town will play a big role in make AI a reality for Africa.
The AI factory will be the largest – Meyiwa believes the only – facility of its kind on the African continent.
Plan are already underway to build another AI factory in Kenya, and thereafter in Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt.
The Partner Experience Centre provides the partner and reseller ecosystem in Africa with direct access to enterprise-grade technologies such as Gemini Enterprise, and the “Gemini Playspace” for rapid AI experimentation. It also provides specialist expertise to prototype, test, and scale digital solutions in real-world environments.
As demand for advanced digital capabilities grows, the Partner Experience Centre will serve as an innovation hub where enterprises, startups, academic institutions, developers, and public-sector stakeholders can co-create locally-relevant solutions, fostering a sense of shared progress and community across Africa.
The facility also provides industry-specific platforms tailored to sectors including financial services, healthcare, and retail.
These platforms demonstrate how AI-enabled solutions can reduce operational risk, improve efficiency, enhance customer engagement, and unlock new growth opportunities across African markets.
“At Cassava Technologies, we believe the future of Africa’s digital transformation will be shaped through strong ecosystems that combine global innovation with local infrastructure and expertise,” says Ziaad Suleman, senior vice-president of Cassava Technologies and CEO, South Africa and Botswana.
“The Partner Experience Centre powered by Google Cloud creates a practical environment where organisations can explore, test, and scale solutions that deliver real business value.
“By combining our infrastructure, expertise, and continental reach with Google Cloud’s advanced technologies, we are helping to democratise access to AI and cloud capabilities for enterprises across Africa,” he adds.
“This is a pivotal moment in our commitment to Africa’s digital future,” says Tara Brady, president of, Google Cloud EMEA. “The Partner Experience Centre is a testament to our belief in the power of a strong partner ecosystem.
“By combining our advanced AI capabilities, including our Gemini models, with Liquid C2’s localised expertise, we are not just building a facility; we are building a hub for innovation that will empower businesses, create jobs, and deliver the benefits of digital transformation to every corner of the continent.”
The collaboration will focus on three core pillars of transformation:
- Accelerated Partner Enablement: The centre acts as a dedicated Proof-of-Concept (PoC) hub designed to dismantle historical market barriers. It provides localised training, hands-on technology interaction, and business support, leveraging Liquid’s capabilities to offer local currency billing and credit to manage financial complexity for resellers.
- AI and Technology Innovation: A primary focus is empowering partners to build and deploy advanced AI solutions. The facility features a dedicated “Gemini Playspace and AI Solutions” to certify technical staff, alongside integrated “Solutions Pods” where partners can demonstrate complete technology stacks to win complex enterprise bids.
- Economic Growth and Job Creation: The partnership is a direct investment in Africa’s tech workforce. By strategically broadening the partner network, the initiative will foster deep, localised expertise and act as a catalyst for new economic opportunities, creating a significant ripple effect of job creation for certified engineers and other tech professionals across the continent.
Cassava continues to expand digital inclusion across Africa through its integrated portfolio of connectivity, cloud, cyber security, and digital solutions.