UniCloud Africa, OADC expand cloud, AI infrastructure

UniCloud Africa and Open Access Data Centres have announced a strategic partnership to scale sovereign cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure across the continent in a move aimed at strengthening Africa’s digital independence and reducing reliance on offshore data systems.

Under the agreement, UniCloud Africa will host its enterprise sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure within OADC’s carrier-neutral data centres in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, creating what both firms describe as a locally anchored digital backbone for governments and enterprises.

The collaboration is positioned to advance UniCloud Africa’s “One Cloud, One Africa” strategy, which seeks to improve data residency, reduce latency, and address regulatory compliance concerns by keeping African data within the continent.

“We are ensuring that African data remains on African soil,” the Chief Executive Officer of UniCloud Africa, Dr Krish Ranganath, said in a statement. “This partnership empowers clients with low-latency access, local currency billing, and secure in-country data management tailored to Africa’s needs.”

The deal will see UniCloud Africa deploy its sovereign cloud services, including Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and GPU-as-a-Service, across OADC facilities. The firms said this would enable African organisations to scale artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data applications without dependence on overseas cloud providers.

Both companies also highlighted financial and operational advantages, including zero data egress fees and billing in local currencies, which they said would lower barriers for African enterprises adopting advanced cloud technologies.

OADC, a WIOCC Group company, said the partnership supports its broader ambition to build a pan-African network of carrier-neutral data centres that underpin the continent’s growing digital economy.

“We firmly believe that fully localised cloud infrastructure is critical for economic growth and Africa’s digital future,” Chief Executive Officer of OADC, Dr Ayotunde Coker, said. “This collaboration allows us to support a platform driving innovation – from AI acceleration to cost predictability.”

The infrastructure rollout will span three key markets: Nigeria, where it will support fintech and enterprise demand; the DRC, to expand limited local cloud capacity; and South Africa, where it will support geographically distributed resilience and disaster recovery systems.

The partnership comes as African governments and private sector players increasingly push for data localisation and digital sovereignty, amid rising demand for secure, scalable and locally governed cloud infrastructures.