Safaricom has teamed up with iXAfrica Data Centre to bring East Africa its first “AI-ready” data-centre services.
The deal gives companies and government bodies a safe local place to store data. It will back it up and run heavy computing tasks especially those that use artificial intelligence. Instead of exporting data abroad, organisations can now scale up quickly inside Kenya while meeting local data-protection rules.
Safaricom chief executive Dr Peter Ndegwa says the region’s fast-growing digital economy needs “strong, secure and green infrastructure” so new ideas, from mobile apps to AI, can thrive. Partnering with iXAfrica lets Safaricom add world-class data-centre space to its business services and move closer to its aim of becoming Africa’s leading purpose-driven tech company by 2030.
The partners will take their offer to market together. They start with private suites that deliver 350 kW of power and can grow beyond 1 MW. High-density racks, advanced cooling and many fibre routes are built in, while Safaricom’s network gives customers quick, private links to the cloud, managed security and business-continuity support all under one contract.
iXAfrica chairman Guy Willner calls the deal “the perfect match of our specialist design with Safaricom’s reach and trust.” The anchor site, NBOX1 in Nairobi, will supply 22.5 MW when complete. It will be the largest data-centre campus in Greater East Africa. It sits on major fibre corridors and uses Kenya’s mainly renewable power grid, keeping both delays and carbon footprints low.
Local AI use cases are ready to follow. Banks can fight fraud and sharpen credit checks; retailers can forecast demand. Factories can monitor sensors in real time all without data leaving the country.
With 49 million subscribers and a history of mobile-money and connectivity firsts. Safaricom believes this partnership will speed up Kenya’s rise as a regional tech powerhouse.
