Cassava Technologies has announced plans to establish Africa’s first AI factory, a state-of-the-art data centre facility powered by NVIDIA AI computing technology. This initiative will provide African businesses, governments, and researchers with access to advanced AI computing capacity, enabling them to develop smarter AI-driven solutions, optimize operations, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
The AI factory will offer the supercomputers and software necessary for training AI models while ensuring data remains within Africa’s borders.
The company intends to deploy NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI software using NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) reference architectures at its South African data centres by June 2025. Expansion is also planned at other Cassava data centre locations in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
By leveraging its extensive pan-African high-speed, ultra-low-latency fibre-optic network and sustainable data centres, Cassava will deliver AI as a Service (AIaaS). These world-class data centres are designed for energy efficiency, minimizing electricity consumption while supporting AI workloads.
The AI factory will be powered by NVIDIA GPU-based supercomputers, facilitating accelerated AI model training, fine-tuning, and advanced inference capabilities. Cassava aims to be the first to introduce these cutting-edge computing platforms to Africa as an NCP, reinforcing its role in the continent’s AI ecosystem.
With the Cassava AI Factory, businesses and researchers will have access to the necessary AI computing resources to scale operations, enhance productivity, and drive innovation. This high-performance, secure facility will enable the development of local AI solutions tailored to Africa’s unique challenges, allowing for AI deployment in a compliant and secure environment that aligns with global and regional 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.”
Cassava’s AI Factory represents the company’s ongoing leadership in delivering world-class digital solutions. It underscores Cassava’s commitment to responsible AI adoption, fostering innovation, and promoting productivity growth across Africa.
“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, VP 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.”
