Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, has broken ground on a data centre facility in Nairobi, Kenya
The new build will see the company’s existing facility on the adjacent piece of land expanded up to an extra 15MW of IT load. The expansion is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024 and will bring five times more capacity than is currently installed.
Hardy Pemhiwa, group president & CEO of Cassava Technologies, commented, “We believe that data centres will play a significant role in digital transformation and economic growth on our continent. Without them, the push towards a digital economy in Africa will be missing a key pillar. Our decision to increase our investment in our data centres in Kenya is in recognition of the position the country now occupies as a leader in the adoption of digital technologies in Africa.”
Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres, added, “The expansion will enable Africa Data Centre clients to grow and scale depending on their requirements. They can start small, increase to a medium capacity, and even benefit from a hyperscale type of deployment in a few years if they choose to. This will enable customers to operate multiple deployments across our sites with a single operations team, campus, and infrastructure they are familiar with.”
The new data facility will begin with 5MW of IT load and will be built in Africa Data Centres’ leading-edge modular design. This ensures the highest possible quality, whilst local contractors will still benefit from contracts to lay foundations, assemble, and complete the build.
ADC has a strict policy of not using adiabatic systems. “We do not use water in any of our cooling systems and are one of the few colocation providers who have taken this step,” said Durvasula. “With the newest technology, if free-cooling capacity is maximised, it becomes far more efficient and saves water which is becoming a critical commodity, particularly in Africa.”
