Compute follows electrons
African data-centre siting decisions are now almost entirely an energy question. The map of planned capacity is the map of reliable baseload.
Data Desk · INFRA/CORE
Data briefLive IT load across the continent is roughly 410MW, of which South Africa holds well over half. Announced pipeline would triple that by 2030 — but only in markets that can supply firm power at competitive tariffs with credible cooling water.
That is a short list: South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and, on a smaller scale, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. AI workloads sharpen the constraint, because density per rack rises faster than grid capacity can be added.
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The constraint was never capital. It is intermediation.
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Twenty years of generation-led financing has produced a continent with power it cannot move. Wires, not megawatts, are the 2030 story.
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