Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) has signed an agreement with Wingu.Africa to lease space at the latter's data center in Addis Ababa.

EEU hopes to improve the reliability, security, and efficiency of its operations through the deployment, enabling it to better serve its customers across Ethiopia.

Michael Debela, CIO at EEU, said: "This partnership with Wingu reflects our vision to modernise the way we deliver electricity services in Ethiopia. By strengthening the resilience of our digital infrastructure, we are improving the reliability of our operations and laying the foundation for smarter energy services that meet the needs of our citizens."

Demos Kyriacou, deputy CEO, COO, and co-founder of Wingu, added: "We are honored to support Ethiopian Electric Utility in this important milestone. Hosting mission-critical infrastructure in our Tier III-certified environment ensures the highest levels of security, efficiency, and uptime. Together, we are building a foundation for Ethiopia’s energy and digital future."

EEU is a state-owned enterprise responsible for the distribution, supply, and sale of electricity across Ethiopia.

Wingu launched in Ethiopia in August 2022, and inaugurated its facility in 2023. It hosts Ethiopia's first Internet Exchange in partnership with ADDIX Technology Solutions. The data center has a capacity of 10MW and space for 800 racks.

In June of this year, Wingu secured $60m in funding from the Rand Merchant Bank to support its development of digital infrastructure in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

Ethiopia as a whole has a very small data center presence, with just five facilities listed on DataCenterMap in Addis Ababa. Besides Wingu, operators include Raxio, RedFox, and Safaricom.