The facility is the company's fifth data center launch in its current portfolio, and the third consecutive launch this year.

As the race to build data centres in Africa accelerates, Raxio Group yesterday inaugurated its new facility – Raxio Côte d’Ivoire (CIV1) – on the outskirts of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The facility is the company's fifth data center launch in its current portfolio, and the third consecutive launch this year, with Tier III accreditation from international industry body the Uptime Institute. 

 This is the Raxio Group's second data centre launch in recent months, following the one in Kinshasa, Republic of Congo, which debuted in August.

The Kinshasa facility marked the country’s largest data centre, with Tier III accreditation by international industry body, the Uptime Institute.

The launch of CIV1 comes at a time when demand for data storage and processing capabilities has soared, putting immense pressure on existing infrastructure, says the company.

The continent has seen rapid development of data centres, according to Corridor Africa CEO Matone Ditlhake, who says it is driven advancements in Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G.

Raxio, for its part, says it is still seeing great momentum in the rollout of its pan-African data centre footprint. 

The company claims that demand for data centre capacity is growing among local businesses and the public sector, as well as hyperscale cloud service providers and mobile network operators, among others, as they expand their networks and market presence on the continent.

CIV1, Côte d'Ivoire's first Tier III certified carrier-neutral and cloud-neutral facility, according to Raxio, is positioned in the fastest expanding economy in francophone West Africa.

Raxio says the 2 000m² facility is fully equipped with ‘best-of-breed technology’ and capable of housing up to 800 racks at full capacity and delivering 3MW of IT power to customer equipment.

Situated approximately 30 kms from the city centre of Abidjan, CIV1 is located in the Village of Innovation and Technology, and supported by multiple paths for power and fibre connections, which underpins its Tier III certification, says the company.

“The 24/7 ‘always-on’ facility is positioned along key fibre routes, delivering best-in-class colocation and excellent domestic and international connectivity, with six connectivity providers currently supplying fibre to the facility,” states the company.

“CIV1 will also serve as host to the country's Internet Exchange Point allowing for low-cost interconnection of local and international traffic in an optimal, carrier-neutral environment.”

Furthermore, the company says the launch of this facility marks its own entry into West Africa.

Raxio says the CIV1 facility is strategically located to serve as a regional hub for the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

According to Raxio, regulation within the economic bloc allows for the storage and movement of data by the banking industry and other financial institutions within the territory.

Robert Mullins, CEO, Raxio Group, comments: “Abidjan is the ideal location for organisations and businesses from across the economic region to collocate their mission-critical infrastructure in a highly reliable and secure facility. We are proud to contribute a fundamental cornerstone to facilitate Côte d’Ivoire’s continued digital growth and cement its hub status in the region.”