US-listed data center operator Equinix doubles down on South Africa

global data center Operator Equinix plans to build 160MW of additional data center capacity in South Africa as part of a R7.5 billion investment effort, for which it has acquired land in Johannesburg and Cape Town worth a total of R890 million.

The Nasdaq-listed firm, which opened its first South African data center in Johannesburg in 2024, has now secured 327,000 square meters of land across the two cities, South Africa MD Sandile Dube said. told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

“All investments are funded by our own balance sheet, and our intention is to do the same with all our future investments in South Africa,” Dube said.

The planned 160 MW of new capacity comes on top of the 172 MW that Equinix already has under construction, significantly expanding the company's South African footprint.

Equinix enters Africa through US$320 million acquisition of Nigeria's MainOne Cable Company begins construction of its first Johannesburg facility – A $160 million data center in Isando, East Rand, in 2022. That facility, known as JN1, Opened in 2024 With 1 860 square meters of rack space and 4 MW IT load.

The Cape Town land purchase marks a new geographical frontier for Equinix in South Africa. Until now, its local operations have been concentrated in Gauteng.

big investments

Equinix is ​​not alone in betting on South Africa's data center sector. Both Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have invested heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure in the country. Vantage Data Centers is building a major campus in Johannesburg with a capacity of 80MW. Africa Data Centres, NTT Data and Teraco – South Africa's largest data center operators – are also expanding.

South Africa accounts for almost three-quarters of Africa's total data center capacity, according to BloombergNEF, although there is only 409MW of operational capacity across the continent – ​​less than 1% of the global total.

Reading: The largest data centers in South Africa – and who owns them

The market is projected to grow from about $2.6-billion in 2025 to more than $5-billion by 2031, according to research firm Arizonan Advisory & Intelligence.

in February, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana designates data centers as critical infrastructure In his budget speech, they were placed on the same level as power, ports and transport networks – a move that Dubey welcomed at the time, saying digital infrastructure had become “as fundamental as water, gas and electricity”.

“All the major hyperscalers have landed in South Africa,” Dube told Bloomberg. “The trend we see from all investors is to target not only the South African market, but also the African opportunity.”

Equinix also has operations in West Africa through MainOne. Dubey said the company is not yet in East Africa but will consider further continental expansion based on the performance of its existing investments. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media