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African technology giant Cassava Technologies is expanding its artificial intelligence footprint on the continent through a strategic joint venture in Egypt alongside Vodafone Egypt (a Vodacom Group unit) and Egyptian industrial heavyweight Elsewedy Electric.
The consortium plans to co-invest in what Vodacom describes as Egypt’s largest data centre and the country’s first sovereign AI data centre. Vodacom disclosed the plan in its latest interim financial results for the six months ending September 30.
Founded by Zimbabwean telecommunications entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, Cassava Technologies is positioning itself as the primary engine for advanced digital infrastructure across Africa.
The new Egyptian project directly builds on Cassava’s ambitious strategy announced in April 2025 to build Africa’s first AI factory in partnership with global semiconductor giant Nvidia. At the time, Cassava unveiled plans to commit up to USD$720 million across five key African markets: Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco.
By establishing a sovereign AI data centre, the joint venture ensures that Egypt’s sensitive national data and the high-performance computing required to process it remain locally controlled within national borders.
The venture leverages Vodacom’s rapidly growing footprint in Egypt where data traffic surged 36.1% and smartphone penetration hit 82% during the half-year period, alongside Elsewedy Electric’s local power and energy infrastructure expertise.
Vodacom confirmed that this data centre deployment will be separate from its existing capital expenditure plans in the country, where it expects to spend roughly R6.5 billion in FY2027.
Through this landmark partnership, Cassava Technologies continues to lead the continent’s transition into local, enterprise-grade AI infrastructure.
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