Cassava Technologies Launches AI Factory in South Africa with Africa-wide Expansion Plans

JOHANNESBURG – Cassava Technologies, a leading global technology entity with deep African roots, has officially launched its groundbreaking AI Factory in South Africa, marking a pivotal moment in the continent's journey towards digital sovereignty and advanced technological capability. This NVIDIA-powered facility is set to redefine Africa's engagement with artificial intelligence, moving the region from a consumer to a formidable architect of AI solutions.

The deployment of the AI Factory in South Africa is the first phase of an ambitious pan-African expansion strategy, with plans to extend these advanced capabilities to Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco. This initiative is spearheaded by Cassava AI Multi-Model Exchange (CAIMEx), a platform launched in 2025, which provides African developers with unparalleled access to leading AI tools and large language models (LLMs), powered by NVIDIA Blueprints, Models, and NIM microservices. The AI Factory offers essential GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS/APIs), effectively dismantling traditional barriers to entry for local computational resources.

According to Ahmed El Beheiry, Cassava's Group COO and Chief Technology & AI Officer, the vision extends beyond mere technological deployment. “For Cassava, building Africa's AI ecosystem is an act of empowerment, not just a technological milestone. As the continent's first NVIDIA Cloud Partner, we are ensuring that African businesses aren't just consumers of global tech—they are the architects of it,” El Beheiry stated. “Our goal is to give Africa the infrastructure to write its own future, using its own languages – starting with Swahili, then expanding to languages such as Zulu and Afrikaans to better serve local users and markets – and data to build a digital legacy on its own terms.”

The strategic importance of this development cannot be overstated. By localising high-performance computing, Cassava Technologies is fostering data sovereignty, enabling the development of specialised AI models tailored for Africa's unique challenges in sectors like healthcare, energy, and agriculture. This approach is designed to cultivate local jobs, nurture startups, and stimulate economic growth across the continent. Partnerships with entities such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Zindi, Africa’s largest professional network for data scientists, underscore a collaborative effort to accelerate AI uptake and talent development.

Source: Pexels (Magda Ehlers)

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Driving Africa's AI Economy

Cassava Technologies’ commitment to Africa’s digital future is further evidenced by a projected investment of up to $720 million in continent-wide AI infrastructure. The inaugural facility in South Africa alone is equipped with 3,000 NVIDIA GPUs, signifying a robust commitment to providing cutting-edge computational power. This substantial investment is complemented by other strategic initiatives, including the launch of the Cassava Autonomous Network in March 2026, designed to enhance telecom performance across Africa, and the Cassava Cloud Partner (CCP) programme, aimed at accelerating AI and cloud adoption through partnerships with mobile network operators and system integrators.

The company's subsidiary, Liquid C2, also made strides in December 2025 by launching Liquid G, an AI-powered Google Cloud distribution programme, expanding access to advanced cloud technologies for African resellers and enterprises. These interconnected initiatives solidify Cassava Technologies' role as a foundational builder of Africa's AI-driven economy.

This comprehensive strategy, from high-speed fibre networks to cutting-edge data centres, positions Cassava Technologies at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa. The goal is clear: to ensure that African nations can innovate independently, leverage their own data, and develop AI solutions that resonate with local cultures and languages, ultimately creating a robust and self-reliant digital future for the continent.