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Africa data centre capacity less than 1% of global total

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Raxio aims to operate in 10 African countries

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Development finance institutions help de-risk early

investments

(Adds reference to Trump tariffs, story link in paragraph 8)

By Colleen Goko

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - The World Bank's private

investment arm is backing the rush into digital data in Africa

with a $100 million investment in regional data centre developer

and operator Raxio Group, funding centres from Ethiopia to

Angola.

Digital demand on the continent is surging, but

infrastructure remains scarce. Africa accounts for less than 1%

of the world's data centre capacity even as mobile data usage

grows by around 40% annually - nearly double the global average,

according to U.S. advocacy group Internet Society.

The debt funding by the World Bank's International Finance

Corporation (IFC) - its largest such investment to date in

Africa - reflects rising interest from global institutions in

the continent's digital economy, where mobile money, AI-driven

services and cloud-based platforms are rapidly expanding.

Hosting data locally reduces costs, improves speeds and

gives governments more control over cybersecurity and

regulation.

"Data centres as such and overall digital connectivity is an

important area of focus for the IFC," said Sarvesh Suri, IFC

regional industry director for infrastructure and natural

resources in Africa.

Improving digital connectivity and building the backbones of

digital infrastructure are of key importance to support economic

growth in Africa, Suri added.

After launching its first facility in Uganda in 2021, Raxio

already has data centres operating in Angola, Ivory Coast,

Mozambique, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo. The IFC

financing will be for further expansion across the continent.

The timing comes as geopolitical tensions prompt tech

firms to diversify operations. U.S. President Donald Trump

raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 54%, increasing costs for

tech manufacturers and cloud operators.

Even before this, Africa was emerging as a new battleground

for cloud services. Cloud computing and tech giants such as

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and

Huawei are ramping up partnerships and presence on the

continent, but many still rely on Europe or South Africa for

hosting.

"We see the interest, the support, the engagement, the

collaboration we are getting from the governments where we

operate, who really want this to happen," said Raxio Group CEO

Robert Skjodt.

Building data centres in frontier markets isn't without

risk. Unreliable power supply, complex regulation and political

instability can deter commercial players.

Development finance institutions play a crucial role by

de-risking early investments that can unlock long-term private

capital, said Suri.