The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has joined a push into Africa’s rapidly growing data storage market with a $300 million investment in the data storage arm of Johannesburg-based Liquid Telecom. Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, whose Econet Group controls Liquid, has already staked the potential of investment into data centres in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. The African region’s data centre market, which currently accounts for just 1% of global available capacity, is expected to grow to $3 billion by 2025, building on a robust growth rate of more than 12% per year. The DFC now wants its $300 million investment to go into “acquisition and expansion of existing data centre assets” in Kenya and South Africa as well as to facilitate ADC’s “entry into new markets” in the region. This will be through development, construction and operation of data centres.
SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA