Cassava Technologies, the pan-African tech powerhouse founded by Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, announced a strategic investment from NVIDIA, the global leader in AI hardware.
The deal, though undisclosed in value, cements a partnership that’s been gaining momentum all year and positions Cassava as the beating heart of Africa’s AI ambitions.
NVIDIA now joins a heavyweight investor list that includes Google, British International Investment (BII), and the IFC.
Together, they’re fuelling what Cassava calls its “AI factories”: a continent-wide network of data centres designed to close Africa’s compute gap and enable homegrown innovation across sectors.
From Partnership to Power Move
Cassava and NVIDIA began collaborating earlier in 2025, when they announced a joint plan to deploy NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI software across Cassava’s regional data hubs.
That partnership has now evolved into direct equity investment, a sign that NVIDIA is betting long on Africa’s digital infrastructure.
For Cassava, the deal links the company’s extensive physical network of fibre optics spanning 30+ countries, cloud services, and fintech operations with NVIDIA’s best-in-class GPUs and AI frameworks. It’s a combination built for scale and speed.
Africa’s biggest obstacle to AI adoption has always been access to compute power. Most machine learning work still runs on servers abroad, creating latency, data sovereignty concerns, and dependency on foreign clouds.
Cassava’s plan changes that script: build “AI factories” across the continent that can process data locally and securely.
As Cassava Group CEO Hardy Pemhiwa said in today’s announcement:
“Securing this investment is an important milestone. We expect it to unlock additional value and catalyse the further expansion of our digital infrastructure and services to bridge the digital divide on the continent.”
Inside the “AI Factory” Blueprint
Cassava broke ground on its first AI factory in South Africa back in July 2025, with operations expected to ramp up by year-end.
Housed under Africa Data Centres, the facility will run NVIDIA’s latest Cloud Partner architecture optimised for generative AI, machine learning, and sovereign data processing.
READ ALSO:Cassava Technologies Announces $310M Funding and Strategic Reorganization
Next in line are Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt, with five factories expected to go live within a year. In Morocco, Cassava has already secured land in Casablanca, with a view toward future builds in Tunisia.
The rollout ties into a broader $720 million investment programme, integrating Cassava’s multiple divisions:
- Liquid Intelligent Technologies (fibre & connectivity)
- Liquid C2 (cloud and cybersecurity)
- Cassava.ai (AI services)
- Sasai Fintech (digital payments)
Together, they form an end-to-end ecosystem.
This push follows a $310 million funding round in 2024 (including $90 million in equity and $220 million in debt refinancing). NVIDIA’s entry adds a strategic layer: global hardware meets local execution.
Why It Matters
Africa generates oceans of data from mobile money transactions to satellite imagery but much of it is still analysed overseas. That limits both sovereignty and innovation speed. NVIDIA’s backing helps change that equation, anchoring compute power where the data lives.
The implications are extensive. Imagine:
- Farmers in Kenya using AI to predict yields and optimise irrigation.
- Doctors in Egypt running diagnostics on locally hosted models with no latency.
- Banks in Nigeria using AI for real-time fraud detection tailored to African market behaviour.
All of it running on African servers, built by African engineers, for African users.
Cassava founder Strive Masiyiwa calls the initiative “essential for Africa’s fourth industrial revolution.” It’s a vision of digital self-reliance, one that’s drawing global attention. Recent partnerships with Accenture for sovereign AI cloud solutions only confirm the momentum.
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Promise
Cassava’s ambitions are bold, but the path isn’t without hurdles. Power reliability, AI talent shortages, and uneven regulation remain real constraints. Yet the company’s track record spanning connectivity, fintech, and infrastructure gives it a credibility few can match.
And now, with NVIDIA’s chips lighting up its data halls, Cassava has the firepower to deliver.
From Johannesburg’s server farms to Cairo’s AI labs, Africa’s digital backbone is taking form. It’s about building differently and building for good.
The question isn’t whether Africa can join the AI race. With Cassava and NVIDIA on board, it’s how fast it will lead.
Cassava Technologies: Driving Africa’s Digital Transformation
Cassava Technologies is a leading pan-African technology group dedicated to advancing digital connectivity and innovation across the continent.
Led by visionary Cassava Technologies CEO, the company continues to expand its influence through strategic investments and innovation-driven growth.
With several Cassava Technologies subsidiaries operating across telecommunications, fintech, cloud services, and digital platforms, the group has become a major player in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, the Cassava Technologies head office oversees operations across multiple countries, with the official Cassava Technologies address available on its corporate site.
The company frequently features in Cassava Technologies news for its expansion initiatives, partnerships, and digital inclusion projects.
Those seeking opportunities can explore Cassava Technologies vacancies, which span various sectors, including engineering, IT, and digital marketing.
While not publicly listed, many investors follow discussions around Cassava Technologies share price and Cassava Technologies net worth as indicators of its growing market value and regional impact.
Ronnie Paul is a seasoned writer and analyst with a prolific portfolio of over 1,000 published articles, specialising in fintech, cryptocurrency, and digital finance at Africa Digest News.
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