Zimbabwe’s Strive Masiyiwa Bets $720 Million on African AI Sovereignty

Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa is spearheading a US$720 million initiative to build five AI factories across Africa by late 2026, aiming to anchor the continent’s artificial intelligence ambitions on homegrown infrastructure.

Through his pan-African tech group Cassava Technologies, Masiyiwa plans to deploy facilities in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco – each powered by high-performance computing clusters, including thousands of Nvidia GPUs. The first site, already under construction in South Africa, will house 3,000 GPUs, much of which has been pre-reserved by African researchers and startups.

The project forms the backbone of Cassava’s “Sovereign AI Cloud” strategy, designed to reduce Africa’s dependence on foreign cloud providers and keep sensitive data local. “Now African innovators don’t have to look beyond the continent for cutting-edge AI infrastructure,” Masiyiwa said.

Currently, fewer than 5 percent of African AI developers have access to the computing power needed to train advanced models. By integrating the AI factories with Cassava’s existing digital ecosystem – including Africa Data Centers, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and cybersecurity arm Liquid C2 – the initiative seeks to close a critical gap in the continent’s digital economy.

Cassava has also launched a dedicated AI unit and forged partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, Google, and Anthropic to support local developers. Analysts say the move could lower costs for governments and startups while positioning Africa as a competitive player in the global AI race – on its own terms.

If delivered on schedule, the network will make Cassava one of Africa’s largest AI infrastructure providers, marking a pivotal step toward technological self-reliance.