Flexibility by Design:
Responding to Changing Requirements in African Data Centres
Craig Blankers Regional Director for WSP in Africa
The data centre landscape in Africa is changing. What was once considered a peripheral market is now attracting global attention, with projections showing the industry is on track to nearly double in value, reaching $ 6.81 billion by 2030. This growth is being fuelled by accelerated digitisation, expanding artificial intelligence( AI) use cases, and a rising demand for cloud infrastructure across both the public and private sectors.
This rapid expansion is forcing a rethink of how infrastructure is designed and delivered. It is putting new focus on the importance of flexibility not as a nice-to-have, but as a baseline requirement. In markets where energy constraints, regulatory evolution, and uneven growth persist, clients require facilities that can respond not only to immediate pressures but to longterm uncertainties with built-in resilience.
We see flexibility as a strategic design decision – one that starts long before construction. It means understanding how
user needs are shifting, how regulations are tightening, and how to build spaces that can evolve with minimal to no disruption. Modularity plays a role, but true flexibility is about foresight.
A market defined by pace and pressure Data consumption across Africa is accelerating. From fintech and e-commerce to streaming, healthcare and government services, digital platforms and the rise of Artificial Intelligence( AI) are creating unprecedented demand for local data hosting. According to Statista, Africa’ s data centre revenue is expected to maintain double-digit growth through 2028. This means new builds are rising across major cities like Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, and Accra. However, across the region, the sector still faces constraints around power, water, permitting, and skills.
It is in this context that design flexibility becomes essential. Whether navigating policy updates, water scarcity or power cuts and load-shedding risks, infrastructure must be built to
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