Visa Moves to Establish Its First Data Centre in Africa
The African continent is witnessing a significant shift in the digital landscape, with companies like Visa leading the charge to strengthen the local backbone for unbanked African adults.
Visa has recently opened its first African data center in Johannesburg, South Africa, investing approximately $54 million. This move is part of a $1 billion Africa strategy by the company, aimed at promoting financial inclusion, helping small businesses move from cash to digital payments, and preparing the network for AI-driven services like fraud detection.
The data center market in Africa is currently underdeveloped, with only 229 data centers across 39 countries, which is less than 2% of the world's total data center capacity. However, the growth potential is significant, with projections showing nearly double the current value by 2030. Africa's data center market was valued at $3.49 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly double to $6.81 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of ~11.8%.
Digital Realty has also expanded its presence in Africa by launching a 2MW data center in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2025. The Visa data center in Johannesburg is designed to process local transactions without routing them through data centers in the U.S., U.K., or Singapore, demonstrating the momentum for digital expansion in Africa and the mainstream acceptance of the Africa bet.
Other global tech giants like Microsoft and Google are also treating Africa as a serious digital market. Microsoft is partnering with G42 to build a data center in Kenya, while Google's Equiano subsea cable has landed in Namibia with plans to link Africa to Europe.
However, the continent still faces challenges such as power shortages, regulatory fragmentation, and a widening skills gap, particularly in cybersecurity. Governments across Africa are pushing for data sovereignty, requiring companies to keep data about their citizens within their borders.
The growth in Africa's data center market signals a turning point for the continent, potentially making it a first-class digital market for AI, smart cities, and innovation. Every other global tech giant likely sees the future that Visa does for Africa, as the continent becomes an increasingly important player in the digital world.
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