Africa's Data Centre Demand Could Surge Fivefold by 2030, Requiring $20 Billion in Investment
New analysis projects that demand for data centre capacity across Africa could increase fivefold by 2030, requiring approximately $20 billion in investment to meet the need. The figure is presented as a continent-wide infrastructure inflection point with implications for cloud, AI, and digital services operators.
Nigeria Data Rules: the CBN's localisation deadline is doing more for data centres than any investment pitch ever could
Knight Frank's $10–20 billion projection is striking. But the real engine underneath it isn't cloud growth or AI hype — it's a single regulatory deadline.
Nigeria's central bank has told every bank, payment provider and fintech to store customer and transaction data inside Nigeria by January 2027. That isn't a nudge. It's a hard wall that forces every digital financial business operating at scale to become a data centre customer, whether they planned to or not.
Mandated demand is a different animal from projected demand. One you can wait on; the other comes with a compliance clock.
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- Africa’s data centre demand could surge 5x by 2030, require $20 billion · nairametrics.com · T2