Airtel Africa to build data center in Kenya after Nigeria project
TLDR
- Airtel Africa to establish a data center in Nairobi and Lagos to diversify revenue streams
- Nairobi data center to have a capacity of seven megawatts, Lagos center planned for 36 megawatts
- Construction set to start in Nigeria first, with Kenya to follow, targeting operation by mid-2026
Airtel Africa is set to establish a data center in Nairobi, marking its second facility of this kind in Africa following Nigeria, as part of its strategy to broaden its revenue streams.
The telecom company envisions the Nairobi data center, designed for use in telecommunications and other sectors, to have a capacity of seven megawatts, trailing behind the planned 36-megawatt center in Lagos, Nigeria.
Airtel intends to commence construction of the data center in Nigeria first, with plans to follow up with Kenya and complete the project by mid-2026. Segun Ogunsanya, the CEO of Airtel Africa, stated, "We are going to break ground in Nigeria in the next couple of weeks and the one in Kenya will follow soon. Construction takes about two years, so we’re looking at them coming into operation probably sometime in mid-year 2026."
Key Takeaways
The establishment of the data center in Kenya by Airtel Africa reflects the company's strategic move to diversify its revenue streams beyond its traditional communication and mobile money businesses. This initiative aligns with a broader trend of companies investing in data center infrastructure across the continent. For instance, in November 2023, Raxio Data Centres announced the launch of its newest facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing secure colocation space for up to 800 racks with 3MW of IT power. Similarly, MainOne expanded its open-access, carrier-neutral data center in Côte d'Ivoire during the same month, enhancing connectivity and data center solutions in West Africa. Liquid Intelligent Technologies, in collaboration with Wingu.Africa, introduced a second Azure hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) stack in Tanzania in October 2023. These developments underscore the growing demand for data center services and infrastructure across Africa, driven by increasing digitalization and the need for reliable connectivity and storage solutions.
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