Africa's data centre capacity exceeds 500 MW with 890 MW in pipeline

Africa’s operational data centre capacity has surpassed 500 MW, with another 890 MW of projects in development, according to a report by Fortren & Company.

The report attributed the growth to rising demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), data storage, and digital transformation across the continent.

While South Africa accounts for more than 60% of operational capacity, investment is increasingly spreading to Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Morocco.

What the report is saying

Africa’s digital economy has attracted significant investment in digital infrastructure over the past decade, driven by rapid cloud adoption, AI, advanced computing, and digital transformation.

According to the report, these trends are increasing demand for hyperscale data centres capable of handling far larger computing workloads than traditional enterprise facilities.

“As of today, Africa boasts over 500 MW worth of operational data centre capacity. As expected, South Africa dominates the region by a considerable margin of over 60% market share.
“While this is the case, emerging markets like Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Morocco, which are East, West, and North Africa’s regional gateways, are gradually diversifying the continent’s digital infrastructure,” the report read in part.

The report said investors increasingly view data centres as critical infrastructure assets because of their long-term contracted revenues, resilient demand, and strategic role in digital economies.

It estimated that Africa has 890 MW of data centre projects in the pipeline, including Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Kenya, Khazna Data Center in Egypt, and Airtel’s planned data centre in Nigeria.

The report added that megawatt capacity has become the industry’s preferred benchmark because it directly reflects a facility’s computing capability and long-term revenue potential.

More insights

South Africa accounts for four of Africa’s seven largest operational data centres, while Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt each have one facility. The Teraco Isando Campus in Johannesburg leads the ranking with 70 MW of Information Technology (IT) capacity—the amount of power available to run servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and other computing equipment.

Nigeria’s 21st Century Technologies Ikeja Campus ranks fourth with 36 MW of IT capacity.
Ghana’s Agility Logistics Park Data Centre Campus has 30 MW of committed IT capacity and can expand to 150 MW.
Egypt’s East Cairo Logistics Park Data Centre Campus has 25 MW of IT capacity and is designed to scale to 45 MW.
Africa Data Centres’ JHB1 Midrand facility in South Africa completes the top seven with 20 MW of IT capacity.

The ranking highlights South Africa’s leadership while showing that major investments are increasingly spreading across other African markets.

What you should know

The findings align with the Lagos Real Estate Development Pipeline Report 2025/2026 by Estate Intel, which projects Lagos’ total data centre capacity will exceed 218 MW by 2030, more than 3.7 times its current capacity of 78.6 MW, as at the time of the report.

Major projects include 21st Century Technologies’ 50 MW facility in Ikeja, Airtel’s 38 MW Nxtra data centre in Eko Atlantic, and Open Access Data Centres’ 24 MW project in Ilasan.
Estate Intel said installed capacity is expanding faster than utilisation but noted the market remains balanced because of the long-term nature of data centre investments.
Nairametrics previously reported that industrial real estate, data centres, and student housing are becoming preferred investment segments for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) across Africa, reflecting investors’ growing focus on resilient, income-generating assets.

The continued expansion of Africa’s data centre industry underscores the continent’s growing digital economy and rising demand for cloud services, AI, and digital infrastructure.