On Day 1, ITW Africa hosted a keynote panel titled “Innovating the Infrastructure Model: Entering the Cloud and Services Market.” The session explored how the once-distinct worlds of infrastructure operators and cloud service providers are converging. With enterprise demand rising and digital sovereignty shaping IT strategies, panelists said Africa’s digital ecosystem is on the cusp of a transformation that will redefine competition, business models, and partnerships.
The session was moderated by Guy Zibi, Managing Director of Xalam Analytics, and featured Ibrahim Dikko, CEO of Backbone Connectivity Nigeria; Jurgen Hatheier, CTO for EMEA and APAC at Ciena; Roderick de Boer, Commercial Development Director at Equinix; Neeraj Pradhan, Acting CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies Kenya; and Anthony Same, CEO of ST Digital.
Dikko observed that cloud adoption among African enterprises is still at an early stage but accelerating, with large corporates driving demand for reliability, turnkey solutions, and compliance with data sovereignty requirements.
Hatheier described the cloud as a “no-brainer” for enterprises seeking agility and scale. But he noted that supply must keep pace with demand, requiring continuous investment in data centers and connectivity. According to him, the industry has rolled out data centers across sizes, but as adoption improves, infrastructure will need to scale with cloud and connectivity.
De Boer pointed to Equinix’s global footprint – 272 data centers across 60 markets – as evidence of the cloud’s ubiquity. He stressed that Africa is still behind in the cloud journey. He said that the average multinational already uses 80 to 100 cloud services, but this is much lower in Africa.
He pointed out that Availability will improve enterprise use, especially when more cloud services are accessible via fiber, Data centers, and localized content, cloud usage will grow.
Pradhan noted that East Africa’s cloud market only began to take shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, when enterprises embraced remote operations. What began as a buzzword, he said, has since matured into an essential part of enterprise strategy.
Same brought a francophone perspective, noting that while cloud maturity in those markets remains uneven, data sovereignty is emerging as the defining issue.
The discussion underscored how Africa’s digital operators are no longer content to remain carriers or infrastructure builders. As cloud and services become central to enterprise IT, they are repositioning as integrated providers. The challenge, speakers agreed, will be scaling infrastructure fast enough to match the pace of cloud demand, while ensuring sovereignty and local realities are not left behind.
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