This week, Raxio Group, a carrier-neutral Tier III data center operator, opened a $30 million data center in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The company announced that the move marks the country's largest data center, with Tier III accreditation from global industry group the Uptime Institute.

The facility, known as Raxio DRC1, is supported by a $30 million investment, according to the company, and it represents a turning point in the country's Plan National du Numérique to advance digital inclusion, private sector growth, and the digital transformation of public services.

The Raxio Data Centre, located in Limete, southeast of Kinshasa, is two floors tall and spans 1,542 square meters. Raxio stated that its modern design can accommodate up to 400 racks and provide 1.5MW of IT power to customer equipment.

It noted that the 24/7 "always-on" facility is strategically placed along major fibre routes, providing colocation and connectivity services.

Raxio said that the center's Tier III certification has multiple pathways for power and cooling systems, while the use of modern components ensures efficiency and commitment to environmental standards.

According to the company, the project was completed in record time after beginning construction in early 2023.

Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Group, said: “DRC is one of Africa’s largest and fastest-growing markets with an existing latent demand for digital products and services that is forecast to soar in the coming years.

“With this facility, we are providing the critical infrastructure essential to supporting the digital economy and enhancing connectivity – and we expect to expand our presence in DRC through additional capacity and new facilities in years to come.

“Our investment reflects unwavering confidence in the DRC's immense potential and our commitment to sustainable digital development across Africa.”

Since opening its first data centre in Uganda in 2021, Raxio has expanded this year into Ethiopia and Mozambique. The launch of the DRC marks the opening of Raxio’s fourth facility this year with 1.5MW being the group’s largest Day 1 capacity to date.

Raxio said it continues to see strong momentum behind the roll-out of its pan-African digital backbone.

“Appetite for data centre capacity is growing not just amongst local enterprises and the public sector, but increasingly from some of the world’s largest hyperscale Cloud Service Providers, Content Delivery Networks and Mobile Network Operators as they strengthen their networks and market presence on the continent,” it said.

“Closing sub-Saharan Africa’s connectivity gap is no longer a pipe dream – it is happening now and we are extremely proud to be among the key enablers that are driving digital inclusion,” said Yannick Sukakumu, General Manager Raxio DRC.

Sakakumu continued: “The commitment and pragmatism of the government has been a key enabling factor in spurring our project from inception to completion in record time and stands as an inspiration for the wider region in grasping this incredible opportunity for a broad-based digital economy expansion. We are looking forward to welcoming customers into an international-standard data centre environment.”