South Africa Needs Four to Five New Data Centres
The Development Bank of Southern Africa projects local data centre power demand will almost double over the next five years.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Data Centers
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The Development Bank of Southern Africa estimates South Africa will need four to five new regional data centres over the next five years. Installed IT load capacity is forecast to rise from 435MW in 2024 to 829MW by 2029.
Why it matters
Growing cloud migration, digital services, AI adoption and data storage demand are driving the expansion. Growing AI adoption requires increasingly powerful computing infrastructure, placing pressure on the country's power and infrastructure planning.
The study projects 394MW of additional IT load capacity between 2024 and 2029, with each proposed regional data centre supporting 1MW of IT capacity and 200 server racks. Investment is projected to rise from R39-billion in 2023 to R68-billion by 2029, though the source does not detail the funding mix behind that projection.
The players
Development Bank of Southern Africa
The Development Bank of Southern Africa is a regional development finance institution that funds infrastructure projects across southern Africa.
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services is the cloud computing division of Amazon and one of the largest global hyperscale data centre operators.
Google is a US technology company that operates large hyperscale data centres worldwide, including investments in South Africa.
Huawei
Huawei is a Chinese technology company that builds telecommunications and cloud infrastructure, including data centres, around the world.
Microsoft
Microsoft is a US technology company whose Azure cloud platform relies on hyperscale data centres, including facilities in South Africa.
The details
The study attributes demand growth to organisations migrating workloads to the public cloud, wider adoption of digital services, increased AI use and rising demand for data storage and processing. It also estimates 20 to 30 edge data centres are needed in underserved areas over the same five-year period.
Timeline
2023: Local data centre infrastructure investment exceeded R39-billion.
2024: Installed IT load capacity measured 435MW.
Early November 2026: An AI and Big Tech stock rout occurred in the United States.
2029: Forecast installed IT capacity reaches 829MW and investment reaches R68-billion.
Over the next five years: Four to five regional data centres and 20 to 30 edge centres are needed.
Roadmap
The Development Bank of Southern Africa's capacity forecast shows South Africa's installed IT load rising from 435MW to 829MW by 2029. Those figures place the country's data centre build-out within the broader regional race to meet cloud and AI computing demand.
Users of cloud services and digital platforms in South Africa may see more local capacity over time as new facilities are built. Demand growth from AI and digital services could also shape the energy and infrastructure needs that affect service costs.
The takeaway
South Africa's data centre demand is set to grow rapidly, and the build-out will depend on where new facilities are sited and how they are powered. Tracking these decisions will show how the country keeps pace with cloud and AI demand.
Further reading
For more on the infrastructure behind this build-out, explore Data Centers coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by IT-Online.
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Should South Africa invest more in its own data centre infrastructure?
