Strategic ICT infrastructure project to develop a Tier III certified, carrier-neutral data centre serving as the primary regional digital hub for the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The facility will host the SADC Regional Internet Exchange Point (IXP), ICANN Root Server Instances, and cloud services infrastructure. Tier III certification guarantees 99.982% uptime with maximum 1.6 hours downtime annually, N+1 fault tolerant systems, and 72-hour power protection. Designed as a public-private partnership (PPP). Objectives include improving data sovereignty, reducing latency, and lowering internet access costs across SADC. The Digital Investment Facility (DIF) is conducting a comprehensive feasibility, market, and regulatory study. Total facility investment estimated at USD 10 million.
PIDA Code
I.02.30.07
Project Status
Active
Project Stage
Transaction Support & Financial Close
Completion Percentage
0
Sector Name
ICT
Alternative Names
SADC Data Centre; Southern Africa Regional Data Hub
Reference Plan
PIDA PAP 2
On SDM
Off
Summary
Project at Project Definition stage (S1), having advanced from Enabling Environment (S0). May 2025: Digital Investment Facility (DIF) confirmed comprehensive feasibility, market, and regulatory study underway with investor engagement anticipated toward end-2025. Openserve signalled interest in a regional interconnection support role. EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund, managed by AfDB, funded the feasibility study. Strong institutional backing from SADC Secretariat.
Description
Capex Cost
1.00USD million
Revenue Model
Hosting fees, co-location services, cloud services revenue, IXP peering charges
Project Risk
Site selection across SADC member states; Power supply reliability and renewable energy integration; Financing structure and PPP investor engagement; Long-term operational sustainability; Security management and cyber resilience
Countries
Angola, Zambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, SADC Countries
REC
SADC
Stakeholders
Southern African Development Community
Start Date
Date Created Raw
Updated Date
Latitude
-24.630000
Longitude
25.923100