Strive Masiyiwa Taps Nvidia to Launch Continent’s First AI Factory—But Who Will Control the Future of African Intelligence?
Africa is no longer waiting to be invited to the tech table. It is building its own—and it begins with silicon, software, and sovereignty.
In a development that could alter the technological trajectory of the continent, Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, through his company Cassava Technologies, has unveiled plans to build Africa’s first artificial intelligence factory in partnership with U.S. tech giant Nvidia. The facility, which will launch in South Africa by June 2025, promises to provide Africa’s innovators with access to world-class AI infrastructure, powered by Nvidia’s advanced computing technologies.
More than just a shiny data center, the so-called AI factory represents a shift in Africa’s digital posture—from passive consumer to active producer. With additional expansion plans in Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, and Nigeria, the project is being framed as a bold step toward reclaiming the continent’s technological future. Masiyiwa is positioning it not as a luxury, but as a necessity. He has stated clearly that building digital infrastructure for the AI economy is non-negotiable if Africa is to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
On the surface, the announcement marks a victory. It’s a leap away from dependency on foreign cloud platforms and outsourced intelligence. For too long, African data has been stored, mined, and monetized in foreign territories, often under opaque terms and exploitative frameworks. With local AI infrastructure, developers, startups, governments, and researchers can build solutions tailored to the continent’s needs, while keeping African data within African borders.
However, behind the triumph lies a set of critical questions that must be asked. If the chips, software licenses, and core technologies still originate from the West, how independent is this model, really? Masiyiwa may be the face of the initiative, but the brain—Nvidia’s intellectual property—remains firmly outside Africa’s legal jurisdiction. What happens if geopolitics intervene? Can Africa afford to build its digital future on foundations it does not fully control?
The history of technological colonization is not lost on those who have been paying attention. Whether it was the outsourcing of African labor to power Silicon Valley’s algorithms or the surveillance tools exported to African regimes under the guise of development, the patterns of exploitation are familiar. Without rigorous regulatory frameworks, local AI infrastructure could simply become a new front for digital extraction, dressed in African branding.
Yet, there is a window of opportunity here. By embedding AI computing within African soil, Cassava Technologies is creating a battleground for data sovereignty. In a world where data is the new oil, ensuring that African data is processed, stored, and secured locally is not only about privacy—it’s about power. This is particularly urgent as AI becomes deeply woven into the decision-making processes that affect health care, education, agriculture, and even elections.
For this initiative to mean something beyond headlines, it must be accompanied by an intentional effort to democratize access to the tools being built. There is little value in a high-tech factory if its benefits are locked behind corporate paywalls or reserved for elite institutions. The next generation of African engineers and developers must be trained to build on this infrastructure. Governments must implement policies that prevent monopolization of access and incentivize open innovation. And above all, there must be public ownership of the AI narrative—because the story of African intelligence cannot be written without the people.
This project also presents a test of leadership. African governments have the opportunity to align with initiatives like this, not merely as spectators or enablers, but as architects. The Cassava-Nvidia AI factory will need continental political support to reach its full potential. It must be seen as a pan-African asset, not just a corporate enterprise. If African leaders rise to the moment, they could set new precedents for how technological infrastructure is governed, financed, and protected.
Strive Masiyiwa deserves credit for having the vision to act while others hesitate. But if Africa is to truly benefit from this AI revolution, we must interrogate the ownership structures, the power dynamics, and the long-term strategic implications of who builds, who owns, and who controls. Africa’s future cannot be cloud-based if the cloud is owned by others.
This is a moment of digital reckoning. Either we seize it with full awareness of the stakes, or we risk celebrating yet another innovation that advances everyone’s interests—except our own. The AI factory is not just a facility. It is a symbol. It represents Africa’s opportunity to move from the margins of the digital world to its center. Whether it becomes a tool for liberation or another instrument of dependency will depend on what we, as Africans, do next.
