Vodafone Egypt, part of Vodacom Group, plans to co-invest in what it describes as Egypt’s largest data centre and the country’s first sovereign AI data centre, through a joint venture with Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies.
Vodacom disclosed the plan in its interim results for the six months to 30 September, published on Tuesday. It gave no details of the investment amount, the size or location of the project, or a timeline.
Cassava Technologies, founded by Zimbabwean telecommunications entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, announced plans in April 2025 for what it called Africa’s first AI factory, built with Nvidia. It said then that it could invest up to US$720-million and named Egypt as one of five countries for the roll-out, along with South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco. Elsewedy Electric is an Egyptian cables, electrical equipment and energy infrastructure group.
A “sovereign” AI data centre is generally one designed to keep a country’s data, and the computing used to process it, within its borders and under local control.
Fast-growing market
Egypt is one of Vodacom’s fastest-growing markets. Vodafone Egypt’s service revenue grew 36.3% in local currency in the half and contributed 24.8% of group service revenue. Data traffic rose 36.1%, and smartphone penetration on its network reached 82%.
Vodacom said the data centre investment would be in addition to network and IT spending in Egypt, where it expects capital expenditure of about R6.5-billion in FY2027. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
