Andrey Semenov
Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) will invest $390M in Africa over the coming five years to set up data centers and expand ongoing operations in South Africa and the western side of the continent, Bloomberg News reported.
The company is also going after opportunities in East Africa and will potentially spend more to construct or buy in that region, said Sandile Dube, managing director for South Africa, in an interview, according to the report.
“We will continue to invest where it makes sense on the continent, and we are undergoing a number of studies to ascertain these opportunities,” noted Dube.
The intended funds are expected to be spent on building data centers at the company’s current operations, however does not include plans for additional markets, according to Dube.
“We’re going to need key hubs on the continent as we have in Europe, which is why we have started with Lagos, Joburg and, in time, we would like to add Nairobi,” Dube added.
Equinix came to the African market two years ago after a $320M acquisition of MainOne Cable and started setting up its first data center in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2023.
Equinix usually prefers acquisitions to enter a new market, however in certain cases like South Africa it decided to establish its own data centers, according to Dube.
In recent years, American companies such Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) and Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies have been investing in data centers in Africa amid increasing demand for connectivity and storage.
Africa accounts for only 1% of global data center capacity, which creates a big opportunity for investors who want to tap into the region’s growth potential, while facing certain operating risks such power supply issues.
