Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, is set to accelerate Africa’s technological leap with a bold plan to build five artificial intelligence factories within the next year through his company, Cassava Technologies.
The facilities will be established in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco.
Masiyiwa, who also serves as the executive chairman of Cassava, described the initiative as a step toward creating a “Sovereign AI Cloud” that will enable African countries to host and manage their own AI infrastructure.
“We are now launching an expansion of what we call the ‘Sovereign AI Cloud,’ which will allow every African country to have its own AI factory,” he said during the announcement.
Closing Africa’s AI Infrastructure Gap
Currently, only about five percent of Africa’s AI talent has access to the computing power needed for advanced research and development.
Masiyiwa said Cassava’s new AI factories aim to close this gap by bringing infrastructure closer to African researchers, startups, and governments.
“Our AI factory provides the infrastructure for innovation to scale, empowering African businesses, start-ups, and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure. Now they don’t have to look beyond Africa to get it,” he explained.
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He framed the project as the latest chapter in his long history of pioneering technology in Africa.
“I helped pioneer Africa’s mobile revolution and then Africa’s high-capacity broadband. Now we are driving the continent’s AI revolution,” said Masiyiwa.
From Telecoms to AI Powerhouses
Masiyiwa built his US$1.3 billion fortune through Econet, the telecoms giant he founded in 1998, which now operates in more than 20 countries.
He also holds major stakes in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (38 percent) and TN CyberTech Investments Holdings (33 percent), formerly EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe.
In recent years, his company Cassava Technologies has expanded beyond telecoms into fintech, energy, satellite services, and now artificial intelligence.
Its first AI facility is already underway in South Africa, developed in partnership with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.
The US$720 million project will be powered by 3,000 Nvidia GPUs, much of which has already been reserved by African AI innovators. Once operational, it will provide high-performance computing capacity while ensuring that sensitive data remains within the continent.
Building Africa’s Digital Future
To support its AI ambitions, Cassava’s cloud services arm, Cloudmania, has recently deepened its collaboration with U.S.-listed AvePoint.
The deal expands Cloudmania’s portfolio with advanced data protection, governance, and migration tools, giving African enterprises access to services that are widely used in global markets.
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