Africa’s AI Revolution Begins: Cassava Technologies Launches AI Factory with NVIDIA

The AI Factory initiative reflects Cassava Technologies' long-standing commitment to digital transformation, responsible AI adoption, and productivity growth across the continent.

Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology company, has announced its groundbreaking initiative to establish Africa's first AI Factory—a state-of-the-art, secure data centre facility powered by advanced NVIDIA AI computing technology. Scheduled to launch initially in South Africa by June 2025, this transformative project represents a monumental leap forward in Africa's technological capabilities, positioning the continent as a significant player in the global AI economy.

Cassava's AI Factory will equip African businesses, government agencies, researchers, and startups with unprecedented access to cutting-edge AI computing resources, enabling them to develop sophisticated AI products, streamline operations, and maintain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global market. The facility will leverage NVIDIA GPU-based supercomputers, enhancing capabilities for AI model training, fine-tuning, and inference tasks critical for next-generation applications.

With plans for expansion into other strategic locations across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria, Cassava's AI Factory will use NVIDIA Cloud Partner (NCP) reference architectures, ensuring world-class standards in computing performance and security. This robust infrastructure aligns perfectly with Cassava's existing ultra-low-latency, high-speed, fibre-optic network, ensuring reliable and fast delivery of AI as a Service (AIaaS) across the continent.

Emphasizing sustainability, Cassava's AI Factory will utilize eco-friendly data centres, designed specifically to be highly energy-efficient, significantly reducing electricity consumption and environmental impact compared to traditional data centre operations. This aligns with global sustainability goals, promoting responsible digital growth and ecological stewardship.

Founder and Chairman of Cassava Technologies, Strive Masiyiwa, highlighted the significance of this initiative, stating, "Building digital infrastructure for Africa’s AI economy is essential for fully embracing the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution. Cassava's AI Factory provides the critical infrastructure required to scale innovation, enabling African enterprises and innovators to develop locally relevant solutions to local challenges. This initiative marks a critical step towards strengthening Africa’s digital sovereignty."

Jaap Zuiderveld, NVIDIA's Vice President for EMEA, underscored the transformative potential of AI technologies across various sectors in Africa, including agriculture, healthcare, energy, and financial services. "By partnering with Cassava Technologies as an NVIDIA Cloud Partner, we are jointly empowering Africa's brightest minds with the computing infrastructure and software tools necessary to innovate rapidly and effectively," Zuiderveld noted.

The AI Factory initiative reflects Cassava Technologies' long-standing commitment to digital transformation, responsible AI adoption, and productivity growth across the continent. As AI increasingly becomes central to business and economic development, this venture positions Africa not just as a consumer but as a creator and innovator of powerful AI solutions, fostering long-term economic resilience and sustainable growth.