Africa Risks Remaining AI Consumer Without Data Centres- Frank Eleanya

Africa risks remaining largely a consumer of artificial intelligence technology unless countries across the continent invest heavily in critical digital infrastructure, TechCabal’s Head of Enterprise and Policy Desk, Frank Eleanya, has warned.

Eleanya spoke while featuring on Arise TV, where he discussed the infrastructure required to position Africa for the future of artificial intelligence.

He said the continent’s limited data centre capacity remains a major obstacle to competing with countries that are already investing heavily in AI infrastructure.

According to him, Africa currently accounts for only about one per cent of the global data centre industry, while South Africa controls roughly 80 per cent of the continent’s existing capacity.

Eleanya disclosed that about 22 data centre facilities are currently being built in Nigeria, describing the development as a positive step but stressing that much more investment would be required.

He said AI-focused data centres could require investments ranging from $250 million to $1 billion, depending on their capacity and scale.

The TechCabal executive said Africa would need to attract billions of dollars in capital to develop infrastructure capable of supporting AI companies, startups and other technology businesses.

He explained that stronger data centre infrastructure would also become increasingly important as African countries seek to bring data currently hosted outside the continent back home.

Eleanya said local infrastructure would give African startups and technology companies greater opportunity to build and deploy AI solutions from within the continent.

He warned that without such investment, Africa could continue to focus mainly on training people to use AI tools developed elsewhere instead of developing the infrastructure needed to compete at the global level.

He stressed that building digital skills alone would not be sufficient, arguing that Africa must also develop the physical infrastructure required to support large-scale AI development.