Safaricom, iXAfrica Partner to Launch East Africa’s First AI-Ready Data Centre
Safaricom has partnered with iXAfrica Data Centre, Kenya’s hyperscale-ready data centre operator, to deliver East Africa’s first AI-ready data centre services for enterprise and cloud solutions clients.
Announced on Tuesday, the partnership will enable businesses and government agencies to access scalable, cost-effective infrastructure solutions for data storage, backup, and computing resources.
The offering is especially significant for enterprises integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their operations, as Safaricom will now support AI-intensive workloads locally, marking a major milestone in Kenya’s digital transformation journey.
“As East Africa’s digital economy continues its rapid expansion, businesses increasingly require robust, scalable, and secure infrastructure solutions that can support the next wave of innovation, including AI workloads,‘’ said Dr Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom PLC.
‘’Through this partnership with iXAfrica, we are enhancing our enterprise portfolio with premium data centre services that meet the highest global standards while supporting sustainable digital growth in the markets we serve in line with our vision to be Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company by 2030,” he added.
The partnership includes a joint go-to-market strategy and the launch of a dedicated enterprise and cloud suites starting at 350kW with scalability to over 1MW. It also incorporates integrated connectivity solutions that maximize both companies’ unique strengths to serve businesses across East Africa.
The two partners say this infrastructure is purpose-built to support the high-density computing, cooling, and resilience demanded by modern AI workloads and applications.
“This collaboration represents a perfect synergy between technological excellence and market leadership,” said Guy Willner, Chairman of iXAfrica. “By combining our purpose-built, world-class AI-ready infrastructure with Safaricom’s unparalleled market presence and customer relationships, we’re creating a digital ecosystem that will accelerate innovation and growth across the region.”
The partnership will allow enterprises to deploy advanced workloads and AI solutions within Kenya, supporting data sovereignty, compliance, and latency reduction. The end-to-end enterprise solution delivers an integrated infrastructure stack—from colocation(2U+) to connectivity, from cloud to managed services, cybersecurity, and business resilience—all under one contract and one trusted Safaricom brand.
The iXAfrica’s NBOX1 Nairobi Campus features a design capacity of 22.5MW, making it the largest data centre project in Greater East Africa. The facility serves a regional population of more than 300 million people and is strategically positioned along major fiber optic routes with access to resilient, low-carbon power sources.
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