Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa’s digital infrastructure group, Cassava Technologies, is making a monumental investment of up to $720 million to deploy 12,000 Nvidia graphics processors (GPUs) across Africa. This ambitious project aims to establish several AI factories across the continent, significantly boosting Africa’s digital capabilities.
The initiative, first announced in March 2025, has already seen the first AI factory become operational in Cape Town, South Africa. Cassava Technologies is also planning further installations in key African cities, including Johannesburg, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. These ‘AI factories’ are set to provide GPU-as-a-service offerings, with a separate project in Egypt, in collaboration with Vodafone Business, slated to deliver the country’s first sovereign AI data center.
Masiyiwa previously noted in November of the preceding year that Cassava had acquired the 12,000 Nvidia GPUs, transported via approximately 28 containerised shipments. Both Nvidia and Google are reported shareholders in Cassava, underscoring the strategic importance and backing of this pan-African digital transformation.
Key Players Involved
- Strive Masiyiwa: Zimbabwean billionaire and founder of Cassava Technologies, driving the pan-African AI infrastructure development.
- Cassava Technologies: Pan-African digital infrastructure group leading the $720 million AI network expansion.
- Nvidia: Supplier of the 12,000 graphics processors and a shareholder in Cassava Technologies.
- Google: Also listed as a shareholder in Cassava Technologies.
Event Timeline
- March 2025: The plan for the AI network expansion was initially announced.
- November 2025: Masiyiwa confirmed the acquisition of 12,000 Nvidia GPUs.
- November 9, 2026: News breaks on the ongoing $720 million investment and expansion plans.
