Equinix plans more South African data centers as local AI booms

Global data-center provider Equinix plans to build more facilities in South Africa as part of a R7.5 billion ($438 million) plan to capitalise on the continent’s artificial-intelligence boom.

The Nasdaq-listed firm, which opened its first data center in Johannesburg in 2024, has bought more land in that city and also in Cape Town, totaling R890 million, Managing Director for South Africa Sandile Dube said in an interview.

“We have now secured 327 000 square meters of land and plan to build further data-center capacity of 160 megawatts,” said Dube. “All investments are funded by our own balance sheet, and our intention is to do so with all of our future investments in South Africa.”

Africa’s largest and most industrialised economy serves as a data-center hub for the continent, accounting for about three-quarters of total regional capacity. Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com have also announced significant investments in cloud and AI infrastructure in the country.

The continent currently hosts about 409 megawatts of operational data-center capacity, or less than 1% of the global total, according to BloombergNEF. Equinix’s plans for an extra 160 megawatts add to 172 megawatts currently under construction.

“All the major hyper-scalers have landed in South Africa,” said Dube, referring to firms that operate cloud-computing infrastructure at a global scale. “The trend that we see from all the investors is to not only target the South African market, but also to target the African opportunity.”

South Africa’s data-center market is projected to grow from about $2.6 billion in 2025 to more than $5 billion by 2031, according to a March report by Arizton Advisory & Intelligence.

Besides South Africa, Redwood City, California-based Equinix has a presence in West Africa.

“We are not yet in East Africa, and our plan is to execute our strategy in the markets that we are in today; depending on how those investments perform, that will inform our investments into the rest of the continent,” said Dube.

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