Africa's Data Center Demand Expected to Increase 3.5 to 5.5 Times by 2030
According to a report by McKinsey & Company, titled "Building data centers for Africa's unique market dynamics," the demand for data centers in Africa is expected to increase 3.5 to 5.5 times by 2030. The report, published on November 24, 2025, describes a continent that is still largely under-equipped, with less than 1% of global data center capacity, but has immense potential to become a major hub for cloud and artificial intelligence.
Current State of Data Centers in Africa
The current capacity of African data centers is estimated to be around 0.4 gigawatts, which could reach 1.5 to 2.2 gigawatts by the end of the decade. This transformation would require $10 to $20 billion in investments and could generate $20 to $30 billion in revenue across the entire value chain of the sector. However, Africa is starting from a very low base, with the most advanced markets (Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa) having capacities that are still far below those of a single European country like France, which had around 0.8 gigawatts in 2024.
Drivers of Demand
Several factors are driving the acceleration of demand for data centers in Africa. These include:
- The increasing adoption of data-intensive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, with around 40% of African companies already experimenting with AI.
- National digitization policies, including the transformation of public services, the generalization of digital identities, and the digitization of administrative procedures.
- The migration to the cloud, with large African companies planning to significantly increase their cloud-hosted workloads by 2030.
Cloud Migration
The migration to the cloud is playing a key role in driving demand for data centers in Africa. In the technology, media, and telecommunications sector, 83% of workloads are already in the cloud, a figure that is constantly increasing. The financial sector is also progressing, although only 56% of its workloads have been migrated to the cloud.
Adapted Model for Africa
Given the fragmented demand between countries and the strong constraints, McKinsey emphasizes that an adapted model is essential for the African context. Small, modular, and progressive data centers will become the norm. While elsewhere in the world, two-thirds of new data centers will have capacities between 50 and 500 megawatts, in Africa, two-thirds will be small (1 to 20 megawatts) or medium-sized (20 to 50 megawatts). This progressive approach allows investments to be adapted to local realities and limits financial risks.
