Equinix Announces $160M Data Center Investment in South Africa

Equinix, the world's leading data center company, announced plans to enter the South African market with a US$160 million data center investment in Johannesburg.

The facility is expected to be operational by mid-2024, according to the company's EMEA president Eugene Bergen.

Equinix's acquisition of Nigeria's MainOne in 2021, valued at $320 million, has paved the way for the company's expansion into South Africa. MainOne, with its landmark submarine cable and data centers in West Africa, provided Equinix with a strong foothold in Africa. However, it seems that South Africa was the company's main target all along.

Bergen stated that South Africa was a "big target" for the company as it is the most developed economy in sub-Saharan Africa. He further explained that they are focusing on getting into Africa and they have their sights set on entering another five or six countries.

"This investment will give both South African businesses the opportunity to expand internationally and global businesses to expand into South Africa. Both will be able to accelerate their growth by rapidly scaling their infrastructure, easily adopting hybrid multi-cloud architectures, and interconnecting with business partners through the Platform Equinix ecosystem of more than 10,000 customers," said Bergen in a Press Release.

Equinix is looking to tap into the growing market of young Africans with access to the internet by building a data center in South Africa. The company is positioning itself to serve large enterprises, including banks, content and media companies, and hyper-scalers operating in the country and across the continent.

By having a presence in Africa, Equinix could serve as a bridge for companies looking to expand their operations into the continent. Additionally, the company hopes that by being established in Africa, it will be able to attract potential customers from other countries on the continent.

While companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have made significant strides, Africa still only comprises around 1% of global data center capacity - presenting a unique investment opportunity for those willing to take on associated risks, such as an unreliable power supply and unstable regulatory environments. With its potential for growth, investing in data centers in Africa could prove to be a lucrative endeavor.

It remains to be seen how the tech giant's data center business will fair in Africa, especially given the recent influx of competition from other global players.