Zimbabwean telecom mogul Strive Masiyiwa and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are spearheading an initiative to build the continent’s first artificial intelligence (AI) factory . This joint venture, led by Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies and Nvidia, aims to bring powerful AI infrastructure directly onto African soil.
The seed of the project was planted at the Global AI Summit Africa in Kigali, where Masiyiwa, co-chair of the event, announced plans to deploy Nvidia GPUs across key African markets . Since then, a dedicated AI “factory” has begun operations in South Africa, where 3,000 Nvidia GPUs were installed in June 2025, with an additional 9,000 units scheduled for rollout across Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco over the next three to four years . Cassava plans to channel up to $720 million into the project .
This isn’t just a data centre. Built on Nvidia’s high-performance cloud architecture, the AI factory serves as an entire AI lifecycle hub—supporting data collection, model training and deployment—all powered locally . Masiyiwa argues this is critical for Africa to assert digital independence and empower local innovators. “Young people building apps and solutions… now they don’t have to look beyond Africa,” he said in Kigali .
Africa currently holds just 0.1 % of the world’s computing infrastructure, with only 5 % of local AI talent having access to advanced tools . The new factory offers a foundation for democratized access-enabling startups, researchers, and universities to train sophisticated systems without relying on overseas providers .
Masiyiwa and Huang’s partnership is a gesture of belief in African innovation. With cutting-edge GPUs now live in South Africa and a multi-billion expansion ahead, the AI factory could become the backbone of local digital progress—fueling everything from fintech and agriculture to health and climate solutions.
For Masiyiwa, Africa’s 16th richest and a recognised philanthropist, the project continues a legacy of empowering Africans . As for Huang, this marks a rare moment where Nvidia goes beyond selling chips, it’s helping build an ecosystem from the ground up.
If successful, this factory may prove a turning point: the raw computing power once confined to the global north could finally find roots in Africa, sparking homegrown AI breakthroughs.
