The first phase of the Africa Cloud Ecosystem (Ace) project, a groundbreaking initiative to create a reliable network of standard data centres across the African continent, has successfully concluded.
Funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, the project aims to provide affordable, reliable, and secure cloud services to critical sectors such as education, healthcare, government, agriculture, and the broader economy.
As part of the first phase, a comprehensive pre-investment study was conducted, analysing the market potential in 11 selected Comesa member states. The selection criteria included ICT capabilities and each country’s potential contribution to the project. The countries evaluated were the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
To disseminate the study’s findings, a two-day high-level meeting was held in Nairobi, Kenya, to review and validate the preinvestment study report and determine the host country for the Ace headquarters.
Speaking at the opening session, Dr Mohammed Kadah, Comesa assistant secretary general in charge of programmes, emphasised the transformative potential of the Ace project. He described it as a cornerstone for developing a robust Africa-wide cloud ecosystem.
“We must harness all efforts to bridge the digital divide, catch up with the rest of the world, and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people in this era of the 4th Industrial Revolution,” Dr. Kadah said.
The project seeks to address critical challenges, including inadequate ICT infrastructure, high costs of cloud hosting services, latency issues from accessing cloud services outside the continent, and the lack of power supply required to sustain local data centres.
AfDB task manager, Omar Elmi Samatar, highlighted the strategic importance of local data processing, noting that Africa currently accounted for just 1% of the global data market.
“Without localising data, we cannot talk about data sovereignty,” he said.
The preinvestment study, conducted by CERFODES, a leading Africa-based, African-led, international consulting firm, involved field visits to national data centres and the collection of vital information to evaluate the project’s feasibility. With the conclusion of this phase this month (December), the Ace project is now preparing for its second phase.
Phase 2 will focus on implementing the structures recommended in the study across identified member states. This includes establishing operational frameworks, recruiting necessary staff, and adopting relevant legal instruments. These steps will lay the groundwork for the operationalisation of the Africa Cloud Ecosystem, pending further funding mobilised by the African Development Bank.
The Ace project represents a significant leap towards modernising Africa’s ICT landscape, ensuring the continent can actively participate in and benefit from the global digital economy.
