Stakeholders to discuss connectivity challenges at Hyperscalers webinar

Industry experts will convene at the Africa Hyperscalers Digital Infrastructure Outlook 2025 Webinar to examine Africa’s role in the expanding global AI-driven infrastructure boom, organisers said in a statement on Sunday.

The event will address key issues such as first-mile, middle-mile, and last-mile connectivity challenges and how ongoing infrastructure expansion can accelerate AI-driven progress.

The webinar, themed “Scaling Africa’s Digital Future: Innovation, Infrastructure, and Investment for 2025,” is scheduled for Friday, February 14, 2025.

Organisers said discussions will focus on the rising demand for data centre services, the growth of cloud adoption, and connectivity expansion while exploring key growth drivers, emerging trends, and challenges shaping Africa’s digital future.

Speakers at the event will include Commercial Lead at Bayobab, Abibat Kazeem; Chief Executive Officer of Open Access Data Centres and Chairman of the Africa Data Centres Association, Dr Tunde Coker; and Managing Partner at Xalam Analytics, Guy Zibi.

Others include Chief Executive Officer of Kasi Cloud Data Centres, Johnson Agogbua; Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Abdullahi; Data Centres Global Sector Lead at the International Finance Corporation, Obinna Isiadinso; and Vice President at Global Independent Connect Limited, Olabode Ojo.

According to the organisers, the event is aimed at technology leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators seeking insights into Africa’s role in the evolving digital infrastructure landscape.

“This event is a must-attend for those looking to understand how Africa is positioning itself at the forefront of this trillion-dollar transformation,” it said.

According to the organisers, global investments in technology and infrastructure are reaching new heights, with spending rising from $10bn compute clusters to trillion-dollar ecosystems.

AI is at the forefront of this transformation, with total AI-related investments projected to exceed $1tn annually by 2027.

This rapid expansion, the statement noted, is driving heightened demand for GPUs, data centres, and power infrastructure, leading to increased competition for power contracts, voltage transformers, and computational hardware.

The organisers stated that despite Africa’s persistent infrastructure challenges, the continent is experiencing a data centre and connectivity boom. “Since 2022, Africa has added 25 new carrier-neutral data centres, with an additional 15 expected by 2030,” the statement read.

It added that Africa’s international bandwidth growth has outpaced Asia and Latin America, although its total capacity remains significantly lower than the 800+ TBPS design capacity of its 33 subsea cables.