AFRICA TAKES CONTROL OF ITS DIGITAL FUTURE AS JENSEN HUANG AND STRIVE MASIYIWA LAUNCH CONTINENT’S FIRST AI FACTORY

Massive Nvidia-Cassava Partnership Marks a Defining Leap Toward Technological Sovereignty in Africa.

Afria First artificial intelligence factory Digital self-sufficiency Technology Partnership.
Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, founder of Cassava Technologies.
Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, founder of Cassava Technologies.


Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang has joined forces with Zimbabwean billionaire and Cassava Technologies founder Strive Masiyiwa to launch the continent’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) factory a landmark initiative aimed at accelerating Africa’s path to digital self-sufficiency.

Rather than outsourcing its technological future, Africa is building it from within. This historic collaboration between the U.S.-based tech behemoth Nvidia renowned for its AI-optimized GPUs and Cassava Technologies Africa’s leading digital infrastructure firm ushers in a new era where African nations take the driver’s seat in shaping their AI destiny.

Construction of the AI facility is already underway, with the first wave of Nvidia’s high-performance GPUs recently arriving in South Africa, making it the initial launchpad for the rollout. “This is about enabling Africans to harness world-class computing power and spearhead AI innovation across Africa,” said Masiyiwa, announcing the partnership at the Global AI Summit on Africa 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Backed by an initial $720 million investment from Cassava Technologies, the AI factory aims to bring world-class processing power directly to African innovators enabling developers, researchers, and startups to access cutting-edge AI infrastructure without leaving the continent.

This initiative isn’t merely about data centers or chips it’s about strategic transformation. Over the next four years, 12,000 GPUs will be deployed across key markets including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco. These will be implemented through Nvidia’s Cloud Partner reference architecture, delivering the computing power needed to train and scale locally relevant AI solutions.

Hardy Pemhiwa, CEO of Cassava Technologies, noted that the AI factory will act as a central hub to drive research, education, and enterprise-grade innovation across multiple sectors healthcare, agriculture, fintech, logistics, and beyond.

For Masiyiwa, this isn’t just a business move. It’s a statement. “Our AI Factory is a critical part of that foundation. It offers African startups, researchers, and enterprises access to top-tier AI tools right here on the continent.”

As the continent positions itself for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this bold initiative represents a tectonic shift placing Africa not on the sidelines of AI development, but at its core.

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