EXCLUSIVE: Africa Gets AI Factory That Will Fix Everything (Except Electricity, Corruption, and Jumia’s Stock Price)

In a groundbreaking announcement that has tech enthusiasts reaching for their smartphones and electricity company executives reaching for their resignation letters, Zimbabwe’s own tech tycoon Strive Masiyiwa¹ has partnered with Nvidia to build Africa’s first AI factory in South Africa. The facility, which promises to revolutionize everything from agriculture to healthcare to government efficiency, will be powered by—and we’re not making this up—the same electrical grid that can’t keep the lights on for more than six consecutive hours in most major cities².

“Building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is a priority if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution,” said Masiyiwa, presumably while his backup generator hummed reassuringly in the background. “Our AI Factory provides the infrastructure for this innovation to scale,” he added, without specifying whether “scale” referred to computational capacity or the rapidly scaling electricity bills that will follow.

The Grand Vision: AI Factories Across a Continent That Can’t Stream Netflix Reliably

According to the announcement that has Silicon Valley executives Googling “Where exactly is Johannesburg?”, Cassava plans to deploy Nvidia’s accelerated computing and AI software at data centers in South Africa by June 2025, with expansion planned to Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. Because if there’s one thing these countries have in common besides breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage, it’s absolutely bulletproof electrical infrastructure.

“This will give African businesses, governments and researchers access to cutting-edge AI computing capacity,” Cassava proudly stated, apparently unaware that 95% of Africa’s AI talent already lacks access to the computational power they need³. But why let small details like “almost nobody can use this” get in the way of a good press release?

Dr. Mbeki Nkomo, an AI researcher at the University of Transvaal, expressed cautious optimism: “We’re thrilled about the AI factory. My team has developed an algorithm that can predict electricity load-shedding schedules with 99.7% accuracy. Now we just need power to run it.”

Powering the Unpowerable: A Master Class in Ironic Infrastructure

The energy requirements for AI computing are notoriously intensive, with some estimates suggesting that training a single model consumes as much power as thousands of households over several months⁴. In South Africa, where load-shedding remains a “persistent reality” according to people who understand understatement⁵, this presents what experts call “a significant challenge,” and what normal people call “are you freaking kidding me?”

When pressed about the electricity concerns, a spokesperson who wished to remain employed stated, “We’re implementing innovative power solutions.” These reportedly include:

1. The revolutionary “AI Power Scheduling Algorithm” that will ensure the AI factory only runs complex computations during the 37 minutes per day when electricity is guaranteed
2. A fleet of 10,000 interns on stationary bicycles connected to electric generators
3. Harvesting the kinetic energy generated by government officials running away from accountability
4. The hot air produced during tech conferences about “Africa’s Digital Future”

“The rollout of AI infrastructure is critical if Africa is to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution,” Masiyiwa insisted⁶, presumably with a straight face and without a single electrical engineer in the room frantically waving their arms in protest.

Cooling Solutions: Because Nothing Says “Efficient Computing” Like 40°C Heat

Data centers traditionally require extensive cooling systems to prevent the hardware from melting faster than an ice cream cone in the Sahara. With temperatures regularly exceeding 40°C in many African regions, cooling these facilities presents another minor inconvenience that Cassava and Nvidia have apparently solved with the power of positive thinking.

Michael Jux, Senior Area Sales Manager at STULZ, a company specializing in cooling solutions for data centers, noted that water-cooled solutions are becoming increasingly popular for high-density AI applications. “Water offers superior cooling capacity compared to air because it can absorb heat more efficiently,” he explained, presumably unaware that reliable water infrastructure is about as common as unicorns in many African regions.

Sources close to the project reveal that Cassava is considering several innovative cooling strategies:

1. Positioning the servers directly under the paths of migratory birds to utilize the breeze from their wings
2. Employing an army of interns (the same ones generating electricity) to fan the servers with giant palm leaves
3. A complex system that harnesses the naturally cool temperatures found in the offices of government officials when asked about corruption
4. Revolutionary “AI Cooling Technology” that will simply persuade the servers they aren’t actually hot

Africa’s AI Talent: From 5% to 5.1% With One Bold Stroke

The announcement comes at a time when only 5% of Africa’s AI talent has access to the computational power needed for research and innovation. This bold new initiative aims to increase that number to at least 5.1% by 2027.

“We’re empowering African businesses, startups and researchers with access to cutting-edge AI infrastructure to turn their bold ideas into real-world breakthroughs,” Masiyiwa stated, likely while a single tear of joy rolled down the cheek of the one researcher who will actually get access to the facility.

Dr. Confidence Staveley, who wrote about the untapped potential of Africa’s AI talent, pointed out that “Africa is home to the youngest population in the world, with a median age of just 19”⁷. This demographic advantage means Africa has millions of young people ready to solve complex AI challenges as soon as they get reliable electricity, internet access, educational opportunities, and overcome systemic barriers to participation in the global tech economy. So, any day now.

Learning From Past Successes: Jumia and Other Triumphs

The AI factory initiative follows in the footsteps of other wildly successful tech ventures in Africa, such as Jumia, often referred to as the “Amazon of Africa” by people who have apparently never used Amazon⁸.

A year after its much-heralded debut on the New York Stock Exchange, Jumia had shut down in three African states, struggled to turn a profit, and got dumped by its original owners. But surely an AI factory requiring exponentially more infrastructure, investment, and specialized talent will fare much better.

“African startups face tough challenges in 2025, including a 32% drop in investment, funding shortages, and regulatory hurdles,” according to Tech In Africa⁹, which makes this the perfect time to build a massively expensive, energy-intensive, specialized facility that requires constant upkeep and technical expertise.

Revolutionary Applications That Will Change Everything (Theoretically)

Despite these minor hurdles, the potential applications for AI in Africa are undeniably exciting:

Agriculture

AI-driven systems will revolutionize farming by providing real-time advice that farmers can’t access because they don’t have smartphones, internet connectivity, or electricity to charge said non-existent smartphones¹⁰. “Our research approach has from the beginning been that the AI models we develop work in low-resource environments,” said Owomugisha Godliver, who has clearly mastered the art of ironic understatement.

The GreenLive system in Cameroon already aims to implement precision agriculture techniques, with expectations to increase crop yields and reduce resource usage¹¹. Farmers without internet access or technical training are reportedly “extremely excited” about implementing complex AI-driven farming techniques just as soon as someone explains to them what AI is.

Healthcare

AI will transform healthcare by analyzing medical data that doesn’t exist because most hospitals are still using paper records—if they’re keeping records at all. Virtual doctors will provide remote consultations to patients who don’t have smartphones, internet access, or electricity to power these devices.

Government Efficiency

Perhaps most ambitiously, AI will tackle government inefficiency and corruption by analyzing data that governments refuse to digitize specifically to avoid such analysis. When asked if they supported the AI initiative, 17 African government officials replied with variations of “new phone, who dis?”

The Twist: It’s Actually Genius

In a shocking twist that nobody saw coming, the entire AI factory concept may actually be brilliant—just not for the reasons stated.

Industry analyst Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini (who definitely exists and isn’t a composite character created for this article) explains: “When the AI factory inevitably fails due to infrastructure challenges, Masiyiwa and Nvidia can blame African governments for not providing adequate support. Meanwhile, African governments can blame the companies for not understanding local conditions. Everyone gets to point fingers while nothing actually changes—it’s the perfect tech venture!”

“By June 2025, we’ll be deploying advanced computing and AI software at our data centers in South Africa,” confirmed a Cassava spokesperson, without specifying whether “deploying” meant “actually functioning” or just “physically present while waiting for electricity.”

Meanwhile, Jaap Zuiderveld, vice-president for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Nvidia, stated that “AI is helping innovators solve our greatest challenges”—challenges that, coincidentally, include how to keep AI powered on during rolling blackouts.

As Africa prepares to enter this bold new era of AI-driven development, one thing is certain: the future is bright. At least during the hours when the electricity is working.

Editor’s Note: TechOnion has learned that Cassava and Nvidia are already working on their next groundbreaking African initiative: an AI system that can predict exactly when this AI factory project will be quietly abandoned. Early results suggest sometime around Q3 2026.

References (Just in case you thought we made it up!)

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strive_Masiyiwa ↩︎
2. https://african.business/2025/03/technology-information/cassava-and-nvidia-to-launch-africas-first-ai-factory ↩︎
3. https://www.undp.org/digital/blog/only-five-percent-africas-ai-talent-has-compute-power-it-needs ↩︎
4. https://www.itweb.co.za/article/can-south-africa-power-its-ai-revolution/KA3WwqdzKOe7rydZ ↩︎
5. https://www.itweb.co.za/article/can-south-africa-power-its-ai-revolution/KA3WwqdzKOe7rydZ ↩︎
6. https://allafrica.com/stories/202503260039.html ↩︎
7. https://www.compiler.news/africa-ai-talent/ ↩︎
8. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52439546 ↩︎
9. https://www.techinafrica.com/challenges-african-incubators-solve-for-startups/ ↩︎
10. https://nai.uu.se/stories-and-events/news/2024-11-14-ai-could-improve-food-security-in-africa.html ↩︎
11. https://ceimia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/state-of-ai-in-agriculture-sub-saharan-africa_25-07-2024-docx.pdf ↩︎