Cassava and NVIDIA to build Africa's first 'AI factory'

Cassava Technologies has announced its plans to establish Africa’s first AI factory—an advanced, highly secure data centre equipped with NVIDIA AI computing technology

This initiative aims to provide African enterprises, governments, and researchers with state-of-the-art AI computing resources, enabling them to enhance AI-driven solutions, optimise processes, and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving landscape. The facility will supply the necessary supercomputing power and software for AI training while ensuring data remains within Africa.

Cassava intends to implement NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI software through NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) reference architectures at its South African data centres by June 2025, with future expansions across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. The AI Factory will integrate Cassava’s high-speed, low-latency fibre-optic network with its energy-efficient data centres to deliver AI as a Service (AIaaS). These sustainable data centres are designed to minimise energy consumption while supporting AI workloads.

Africa's AI future begins now!

Powered by NVIDIA GPU-based supercomputers, the AI Factory will facilitate rapid AI model training, fine-tuning, and advanced inference. As an NCP, Cassava aims to introduce these cutting-edge computing platforms to Africa, positioning itself as a key player in the continent’s AI landscape.

The AI Factory will provide businesses and researchers with the computational resources needed for scaling AI applications, increasing efficiency, and driving innovation. With this secure, high-performance AI environment, African enterprises and governments can develop localised AI solutions while adhering to both global and local data regulations.

“Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution. 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,” said Strive Masiyiwa, founder & chairman of Cassava. “Collaborating with NVIDIA gives us the advanced computing capabilities needed to drive Africa’s AI innovation while strengthening the continent’s digital independence.”

“AI is helping innovators solve our greatest challenges in agriculture, healthcare, energy, financial services and many other industries creating opportunity in Africa,” said Jaap Zuiderveld, vice-president EMEA at NVIDIA. “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.”

Cassava’s AI Factory represents the latest step in the company’s longstanding commitment to delivering cutting-edge digital solutions, reinforcing its dedication to responsible AI adoption, technological advancement, and productivity growth throughout Africa.