In today’s world, data is not just about numbers and technology; it shapes how people live, how governments plan, and how businesses grow. It influences who gets a loan, who receives medical care, and who has access to education. That’s why control over data, called data sovereignty, is becoming one of the most important sources of power in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, Africa is still on the margins of this new reality. Although the continent is home to over 1.4 billion people, 18% of the world’s population, it provides less than 4% of the data used to train today’s most powerful AI systems. Most African data is stored in foreign data centres, beyond the reach of African laws and courts. This is no longer just a ‘digital divide’, it’s a dependence on outside systems that don’t fully understand or represent African realities.
What’s Holding Africa Back?
There are several key reasons why Africa remains largely underrepresented in the global digital economy.
First, representation. Most AI systems are built on data from outside Africa. As a result, they often misjudge or misrepresent African realities, whether it’s credit scoring, medical diagnostics, or speech recognition. The absence of African data creates blind spots that affect real lives.
Second, infrastructure. Africa captures less than 1% of global cloud revenue and has limited data storage and processing capacity. This forces governments and businesses to rely on distant cloud providers. Outages, costs, or policy shifts in other countries can suddenly disrupt services at home.
Third, governance. With 29 different national data protection laws, Africa lacks a unified approach to managing data. In contrast, the European Union negotiates data rules as a single bloc. Africa’s fragmented regulatory landscape makes it harder to attract investment or protect citizens’ rights.
Momentum is Building
Despite these challenges, there are reasons to be hopeful. Africa’s data centre market is expected to grow by 17.5% in 2025, thanks to rising digital demand and support from investors focused on environmental and social goals.
Several major projects are already underway. Microsoft and G42 (a technology group from the UAE) are investing $1 billion in a geothermal-powered data centre in Kenya. Equinix, one of the world’s largest data infrastructure companies, plans to spend $390 million expanding into West, South, and East Africa. By the end of this year, Rwanda and Zimbabwe will join the list of countries with carrier-neutral data centres, bringing the total to 26.
A Blueprint in Morocco
Morocco offers a model of what digital sovereignty can look like. In June 2025, a consortium led by Nexus Core Systems announced a 500-megawatt, renewables-powered AI infrastructure project on the Atlantic coast. Phase one, with 40 MW of NVIDIA’s Blackwell AI chips, will go live in early 2026, exporting compute power across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Critically, this infrastructure is under Moroccan jurisdiction, not subject to U.S. laws like the CLOUD Act. The project proves that African countries can host cutting-edge data systems while protecting their own legal and strategic interests.
How Africa Can Lead
To turn early momentum into lasting sovereignty, African governments, institutions, and partners must work together across four pillars:
- Data creation and curation. Countries should invest at least 1% of GDP in digital public infrastructure, such as national ID systems, crop mapping satellites, and open data portals. These systems ensure that African data reflects African lives.
- Compute and storage. Regions with access to renewable energy can build local ‘green AI corridors’ linked by neutral internet exchanges. This keeps data close to where it’s generated and cuts dependence on foreign servers.
- Policy and regulation. The African Union should lead a continent-wide Data Sovereignty Compact, a framework to harmonise data protection, localisation, and AI ethics. A unified legal environment will attract investment and support responsible innovation.
- Talent and research. African universities and public agencies should develop homegrown AI talent. Governments can require that models trained on African data are hosted locally. Research must be rooted in African languages, priorities, and realities, not just imported standards.
A Role for Everyone: From Governments to Global Partners
Governments should commit at least 10% of their ICT budgets to data sovereignty and adopt AU-wide standards. Local cloud facilities and fibre infrastructure deserve long-term funding, not just short-term pilots.
Private industry must shift from short-lived cloud credits to permanent, on-the-ground investment. Companies should publish annual data localisation reports and follow the example set by Nexus Core Systems.
Development finance institutions (DFIs) should support 20-year infrastructure partnerships, not just one-off tech grants. According to the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, every $1 invested in data systems brings $32 in economic return. That’s a smart investment.
Universities, civil society groups, and non-profits also have a responsibility. Open data repositories, civic tech labs, and ethical data governance initiatives must be scaled up to support innovation that’s inclusive and local.
A Strategic Opportunity: OpenAI for Countries
OpenAI has recently launched an initiative called OpenAI for Countries, designed to help governments build local data centres, train AI systems in national languages, and support start-ups in their own ecosystems. The program is looking for ten partner countries in its first phase. This initiative aligns well with Africa’s goals for sovereign data and democratic AI development.
Africa’s Moment to Lead on Data
Africa has everything it needs to become a global leader in digital intelligence. Its young population, growing tech talent, and renewable energy potential are powerful advantages. But sovereignty will not be handed over, it must be built.
We must act now, before the rules of the digital world are written without us. Morocco’s Nexus Core project shows what’s possible when ambition meets action. It’s time for the rest of the continent to follow suit, and shape a future where Africa owns its data, tells its stories, and sets its own course.
- Data & AI
- Digital Strategy