Open Access Data Centres (OADC), the new data center platform from WIOCC, has begun work on a data center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Our newest core facility in DRC is coming to Kinshasa. This world-class, carrier-neutral data center, located within the Silikin Village is well underway and on schedule for completion by mid-2023,” the company said on LinkedIn this week.
Update: The company has since said the first phase of the 2MW-capable, 1,000 sqm (10,760 sq ft), 550+ rack data center (known as FIH1) will be operational by end-April. The facility is being developed in partnership with local real estate firm TEXAF.
Dr, Ayotunde Coker, CEO of OADC, said, “This data center, and others we have in the pipeline for DRC, are changing the narrative and opportunities for large and small enterprises, Government departments, and international content networks and cloud operators to localize in the country."
Philippe Croonenberghs, chairman of TEXAF, added: “We are proud to be partnering with OADC in the creation of another essential building block of the digital ecosystem here in the DRC. This fully validates our strategy of attracting international industry leaders such as OADC to the country and specifically into our new Silikin Village digital hub. It is also an affirmation of our standing and reputation in the country.”
Original story resumes:
In November 2021, WIOCC announced it had raised $200 million to launch a new pan-African data center network known as Open Access Data Centres (OADC). OADC is planning several core data centers in countries across the continent and is rolling out hundreds of small Edge locations in South Africa.
The company has launched facilities in Lagos, Nigeria; as well as Johannesburg and Durban in South Africa. Two facilities in Cape Town, South Africa are set to launch soon. Around 30 Edge locations have been launched across South Africa.
Another facility, in Mogadishu, Somalia, was due to come online ‘before the end of 2022', but the company hasn’t mentioned it in recent announcements.
OADC has said previously it plans facilities in up to 20 countries across Africa, including; Accra, Ghana; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Kinshasa, DRC; and Mombasa & Nairobi, Kenya.
Formed in 2008, African wholesale network firm WIOCC is part of the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), Europe India Gateway (EIG), West Africa Cable System (WACS), Telecom Egypt North (TE North), South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5), and the Facebook-led 2Africa cable systems.