Safaricom has entered a strategic partnership with iXAfrica Data Centres to introduce what they term as East Africa’s first AI-ready data infrastructure, marking a critical milestone in Kenya’s journey toward becoming a digital and innovation hub. This collaboration is designed to deliver scalable, secure, and high-performance infrastructure to support AI computing, cloud services, edge computing, and more.

The new infrastructure, anchored at iXAfrica’s NBO1 Nairobi Campus, will serve a regional population of over 300 million and provide advanced computing solutions for businesses, government institutions, and developers across East Africa.

The term “AI-ready” in this context refers to a data centre built to support:

This means enterprises in , with the full confidence of data sovereignty, compliance, and speed.

The Safaricom-iXAfrica partnership includes:

These integrated services are ideal for:

This partnership is not just about infrastructure – it represents a paradigm shift in how African enterprises can access and scale next-generation technologies. Businesses will no longer need to depend on overseas data centres to access compute-intensive workloads. Instead, they will benefit from:

Guy Willner, Chairman of iXAfrica, said the collaboration “creates a digital ecosystem that will accelerate innovation and growth across the region.” Safaricom CEO Dr. Peter Ndegwa added that it aligns with Safaricom’s vision to become “Africa’s leading purpose-led technology company by 2030.”

With more than 49 million subscribers and leadership in mobile services and fintech through M-PESA, Safaricom’s involvement gives the project scale and trust. The country’s access to resilient, low-carbon electricity – over 90% of Kenya’s grid is powered by renewables – adds to its appeal for sustainable tech infrastructure.

The iXAfrica campus, with a design capacity of 22.5MW, is currently the largest data centre project in Greater East Africa. It is strategically positioned along major fibre optic routes, ensuring maximum connectivity.

• : With Kenya aiming to digitize public services, this infrastructure provides the secure backbone needed for health records, smart city platforms, and emergency services.

This partnership between Safaricom and iXAfrica could not be more timely. With AI becoming central to every digital strategy, Kenya now has a competitive edge in hosting, developing, and scaling AI workloads domestically. This announcement sends a strong signal that Africa is ready—not just to consume AI but to build and power it too.

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