Africa is undergoing a digital revolution—internet access is rising, content consumption is surging, businesses are moving to the cloud, and governments are going digital. But all of this depends on one critical, often overlooked foundation: data centers.

In this premiere episode of Why Should We Care About African Data Centers? host Ville Wacklin sets the stage for the season by exploring why data centers are essential to Africa’s digital future—and why building them right, right now, matters more than ever.

We hear from experts across the continent about what is driving demand: a young, tech-savvy population, growing mobile connectivity, and a shift toward service-based economies. Yet with only about two hundred Tier III or higher data centers across Africa—just 1–1.5% of global capacity—the potential for growth is massive.

But Africa cannot just copy-paste designs from elsewhere. As Mary Kariuki from the Africa Data Center Association explains, facilities must be tailored to the local environment, resources, and business culture.

There is also an opportunity to leapfrog outdated models. Faith Waithaka points to Africa’s chance to build sustainably from the start—learning from past mistakes in Europe and North America. With countries like Kenya already running on mostly renewable energy, Africa could lead in green digital infrastructure.

The episode also tackles data sovereignty, the need for local skills development, and the legacy of underbuilt physical infrastructure. Experts like James Hutton-Mills, Ben Roberts, and Susan Mbatia share insights on how to bridge the gaps and build a data-driven economy that works for Africa.

This podcast is part of the Data Governance in Africa Initiative https://d4dhub.eu/initiatives/data-governance-in-africa, a project that helps the African Union harmonise data policies, enables cross-border data flows, and supports secure, sustainable digital infrastructures across the continent. Funded by the EU, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France and Germany, it supports a unified digital market in Africa.

Whether you are an investor, an operator, policymaker or simply curious about the backbone of the internet, this podcast is for you.