Africa must build own AI capacity as US data centre plans wobble, says ICT body

Africa must invest in its own data centres and computing capacity or risk being locked out of the artificial intelligence economy, a pan-African ICT industry body has warned.

The Technology Information Confederation Africa (TICON Africa) said last week’s sell-off in US AI and data centre stocks showed the risks of the continent relying on infrastructure in other economies.

AI-related shares fell sharply after the US midterm elections, on investor concerns that the Democrats’ gains in Congress could lead to tighter rules on data centre development.

Swiss bank UBS has estimated that about 30 percent of expected 2028 US data centre capacity additions could be at risk from political uncertainty and grid bottlenecks.

“Africa’s ability to participate meaningfully in the global AI economy will depend not only on its ability to develop AI applications, but also on access to the infrastructure needed to train, run and deploy them,” said David Gowu, President of TICON Africa.

Mr Gowu warned that without enough local data centres and cloud infrastructure, Africa risks becoming mainly a consumer of AI built and hosted elsewhere.

That would leave African businesses paying foreign providers for services on infrastructure over which the continent has little control.

Africa accounts for about 0.6 percent of global data centre capacity, despite being home to around a fifth of the world’s population, according to the Africa Data Centres Association.

A 2025 report by consultancy Access Partnership estimates that by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa will face a 98 percent gap between demand for AI computing and available data centre capacity.

Data control

Mr Gowu said where data is stored and processed is becoming more important as AI systems handle more information about businesses, governments, financial transactions and citizens.

“This requires investment in local technological capacity and stronger data governance frameworks,” he said.

He added that data centres attract investment, create skilled jobs and boost demand for energy and connectivity.

Greater access to computing power could also lower costs for local start-ups, universities and researchers that struggle to afford processing resources, he said.

“Developing local capacity is therefore not simply about data sovereignty, but about ensuring the continent can participate in, and capture economic value from, the AI economy,” Mr Gowu said.

“Africa cannot expect to capture the full economic benefits of AI if it does not invest in the foundations that make AI possible.”

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