Out of 249 data centres across the continent, South Africa alone hosts 61, one-quarter of the total. The gap between the leader and the rest is striking: Nigeria follows with 25, Kenya with 19, and most countries operate with fewer than ten.
A small group of countries is quietly becoming Africa’s digital backbone. South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco combined account for a large share of the continent’s capacity, reflecting where demand, connectivity, power reliability, and investment are strongest. These markets are evolving into regional data hubs—where cloud services, fintech platforms, streaming, and enterprise systems are housed.
