Africa Data 1
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While the focus of global data center growth has been primarily seen in the traditional Western markets, the worldwide explosion in demand for digital services is not only confined to the likes of the United States and Europe.

Airtel Africa is one of the largest telecom operators in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a presence in 14 countries and serving over 160+Mn subscribers. Africa’s data use is on the rise, and with this in mind, Airtel has announced plans to enter the African market through its data center arm (Nxtra by Airtel), offering data center managed services for major enterprises, corporates, banking & finance, hyperscalers, government, content providers, international carriers and a range of other sectors.

Watts new

In India, Nxtra already has a proven track record of running 200+ megawatt (MW) capacity data centers, catering to a wide variety of clients. Nxtra Africa is spearheaded to replicate this success across the continent, bringing technology, skills, and capital to a range of previously underserved markets.

With eyes on fourteen markets across the continent, Nxtra is looking to “democratize cloud services” in Africa, increasing the visibility and potential offered by countries beyond South Africa, which for many Western organizations is the be-all-and-end-all of the region. By achieving this, Nxtra hopes to attract global businesses seeking state-of-the-art facilities outside traditional data center concentrations.

DCD spoke to Yashnath Issur, CEO of Nxtra Africa, to find out more about opportunities for data centers in the world’s second-largest continent:

“The technology world around us is changing at a rapid pace. Organizations are moving to a digital-first approach by adopting next-generation technologies such as cloud, AI, and 5G. Africa is no different, leading to increased demand for a new generation of data centers that are agile, automated, application-friendly, and multi-cloud capable. This will be a critical enabler of this emerging digitally-enabled African economy. Coupled with local data storage regulations, Africa is witnessing strong demand for reliable data center solutions.”

He continues, “Given the vastness of Africa as a continent, Nxtra believes the industry will need more than just South Africa to meet the demand for growing data center requirements. We see Lagos and Nairobi playing as larger regional hubs across Africa, as both have access to large growing populations, large enterprise businesses, availability of submarine cable landing infrastructure, domestic fiber routes, land parcels, and skilled manpower.”

Continent coverage

Issur lists several other high-potential countries where Nxtra will create data centers, including Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, and Rwanda. “These countries will emerge as important Edge locations in the future,” he tells us. “These countries will enable global hyperscalers, enterprises, and next-gen enterprises to host their content closer to African customers.”

Africa Data 3
– Getty Images

Thanks to Nxtra’s existing infrastructure on the continent, and a commitment to investing in the construction of new facilities, the company believes it will be able to create the largest data center network in Africa at a time when interest from major domestic and global players is continuing to grow.

In the coming years, Nxtra is planning to create a total capacity of up to 180 MW across multiple countries in Africa. The largest data centers are being built in Lagos and Nairobi, followed by Mombasa, Dar, Kampala, Kinshasa, and Kigali, with more to follow.

It gives a clear head start for Airtel Africa, which already owns fiber infrastructure of over 77,000 kilometers across its market in Africa. It also has large capacities of submarine cable assets including fiber pairs in its submarine cable system and landing station network across major countries in Africa. Nxtra describes itself as a synergy business for Airtel Africa, to couple its telecom infrastructure with data center growth in the region.

Issur said, “Countries like Kenya and Nigeria are at the forefront of go-to-market because of the rapid expansion in their tech ecosystem, and the increase in internet penetration. We have started construction of a 40+ MW data center in Lagos and another in Nairobi.”

Africa Data 2
– Getty Images

Indian heritage

Nxtra plans to use its extensive knowledge of the sector gained in India through its parent companies to launch services with the same promised standards of professional excellence. Issur tells us: “Our experience helps us understand the unique challenges. We have already leveraged opportunities in the African digital ecosystem, 41 Edge data centers across 14 of the countries where we currently operate.”

“With local presence and understanding of the local markets, regulatory environments, and the customers’ needs, we can offer a wide range of service portfolios, from end-to-end support, and digital solutions for the entire lifecycle of data center managed services and ensure digital transformation journey for our customers,” he adds.

We ask Issur about key strategies for Africa in building its ecosystem. He explains that these include a combination of strategic planning, speed in execution, technology adoption, global benchmarks, and building operational efficiency:

“We are building future-ready, digitized data center infrastructure with an advanced modular design approach that can seamlessly scale with business needs on demand. All our facilities are designed to handle complex Artificial Intelligence (AI) based workloads through high structural floor loading and next-gen cooling technologies.”

Security blanket

In addition to this, Issur is keen to emphasize the high levels of security in Nxtra data centers, which he cites as boasting “comprehensive, multi-layer security including under-vehicle scanners, AI/ML-driven surveillance cameras, intrusion detection systems, man traps, and a centralized command center that ensures a safer place to protect the organization’s IT infrastructure.”

Sustainability also plays a significant role: “We strongly believe in sustainable systems and buildings. We follow sustainable practices throughout the entire lifecycle of the data center, from site selection to efficient architecture design. We use the best cooling technologies, using locally sourced, recyclable materials which lower our carbon footprint. Our new builds have a design efficiency PUE below 1.4, thereby optimizing operating costs, minimizing environmental impacts, and enhancing sustainability.”

Perfect partners

We finish by asking Issur exactly what a customer can expect from a partnership with Nxtra. He tells us: “Enterprises can expect a comprehensive portfolio of localized digital services, including cloud & AI. We are building world-class data centers to that effect. Together with Airtel Africa, we will offer a host of connectivity and telecom solutions to enable a strong digital ecosystem. Airtel is a strong player in the B2B market across sub-Saharan Africa providing a host of telecom services to enterprise customers for over a decade, which gives us an unparalleled local market knowledge and expertise to be offered to our enterprise and hyperscale customers.

For more information about Nxtra Africa, click here