Africa’s ambition to harness artificial intelligence as a force for economic transformation took center stage at the Vertiv AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow held in Lagos, Nigeria. The 2025 edition brought together technology leaders, policy makers, and enterprise decision-makers to tackle a critical question: what infrastructure must Africa build today to unlock AI at scale tomorrow?
Held under the theme “Powering the Future of Enterprise Innovation,” the Roadshow underscored that AI is far beyond a fleeting trend: it is reshaping industries, redefining competitiveness, and driving nations towards new growth frontiers.
Opening the event, Wotjek Piorko, Managing Director Africa at Vertiv, welcomed delegates before Jon Abbott, Technologies Director for Colocation and Hyperscale at Vertiv, delivered a powerful keynote titled “AI Data Centers and the African Opportunity.” Abbott emphasized that AI demands a new compute architecture, requiring an equally transformative rethink of Africa’s data centers, power systems, and connectivity frameworks.
The event’s highlight was a high-impact panel featuring Johnson Agogbua, CEO of Kasi Cloud; Oluwasayo Oshadami, Director, Solutions Architects (West Africa), Equinix; Patrick Munis, President and CEO of NewWave Holdings LLC; Ikechukwu Nnamani, Country Managing Director of Digital Realty; Gerald Madondo, Country Director, Turner and Townsend; and Jon Abbott from Vertiv. Drawing parallels to Nigeria’s GSM revolution, panelists noted that AI has the potential to leapfrog legacy barriers and ignite an even larger wave of innovation, if the foundational infrastructure is built now.
Panelists emphasized that most of Africa’s data remains offshore, posing sovereignty, latency, and security challenges. As digital activity multiplies, investing in localized data hosting is imperative. Growth requires joint action between governments, businesses, and infrastructure players to invest in data centers, land access, renewable power, and local talent development. Reliable, renewable energy access remains a hurdle, and building data centers near dependable power sources while structuring long-term funding models were identified as an immediate need.
Speakers shared examples of real-world AI applications already emerging across the continent, including edge AI for fraud detection, agentic KYC/KYB systems, and real-time credit scoring. Hybrid, multi-cloud-ready data centers tailored for AI are already under construction, notably in Lagos, signaling market maturity. There was a strong call for capacity building and attracting diaspora tech talent to deliver AI solutions and operate critical infrastructure. Panelists also stressed that policy frameworks for data classification, investment protection, and AI governance must balance national interests with innovation and market competitiveness.
Looking to the next five years, participants shared optimism that AI could unlock personalized education, revolutionize sectors such as construction and finance, and catalyze job creation and GDP growth across Africa. Closing the event, speakers urged attendees to use AI, teach AI, and build AI infrastructure.
The Vertiv AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow served as both a wake-up call and a blueprint, highlighting that Africa’s AI journey requires coordinated investments, forward-looking policies, and collective resolve to build a digitally sovereign and globally competitive future.
