Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa’s ADC to build its first data center in Rwanda

Africa Data Centers (ADC), a leading carrier-neutral data center provider owned by Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, plans to build its first data center in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, to meet the region’s growing demand.

The construction of the new data center facility, which will have a capacity of two megawatts of IT load, is set to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

The announcement comes nearly six months after ADC launched a 30-megawatt data center in Accra, Ghana, and began construction on a second 20-megawatt data center in Cape Town, one of South Africa’s three capital cities, as part of a concerted effort to become the continent’s leader in digital services and solution providers.

Cassava Technologies Group President and CEO Hardy Pemhiwa stated that the move complements ADC’s existing investments in Rwanda and East Africa and that the company will continue to work closely with both public and private enterprises in Rwanda to ensure that the facility is used to provide the digital services that Rwandans require.

According to Tesh Durvasula, CEO of ADC, the decision to build a data center in Kigali “was an easy one, given Rwanda’s robust economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government of Rwanda’s focus on digital transformation.”

He added that the new data center brings three major benefits to the market: global standards, high quality of service, and affordability, allowing enterprises to save money on the costs of building and maintaining their own facilities.

ADC is an affiliate of Cassava Technologies, a fiber and telecom solutions group founded by Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe’s richest man and a leading African tech billionaire.

ADC is constantly working to provide the infrastructure to help companies achieve their digital goals as Africa’s largest and leading network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data center facilities, a move that aligns with ADC’s expansion plans.

Despite the fact that Rwanda is a landlocked country in East Africa, ADC revealed that there is stable network connectivity and infrastructure connecting it to Uganda and from there to the Kenyan coast into Uganda.

The company believes that connecting the new data center to its Nairobi location will see Rwanda become part of a thriving East African tech ecosystem.