South Africa accelerates data center growth as digital infrastructure hub

South Africa's National Treasury plans to accelerate data center growth, positioning the country as a digital infrastructure hub for Africa. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana declared data infrastructure critical to the economy, comparing it to electricity, ports, and transport networks in his 2026 budget speech. The government will explore incentives like tax breaks and VAT relief to support expansion, targeting over R50 billion ($2.7 billion) in investments over three years. Major tech companies including Microsoft, Google, and AWS are expanding African cloud capacity, with Teraco building four new facilities backed by $900 million. While South Africa already hosts 50+ data centers, industry experts note electricity supply constraints remain the biggest growth barrier.

SOURCE: https://techcabal.com/2026/02/25/south-africa-eyes-data-centre-boom/