Pan-African Internet Exchange (PAIX) data centres, a provider of cloud-and carrier-neutral colocation data centre services, has entered into a joint venture with NSIA Technologies to develop and operate carrier neutral datacentres under the PAIX brand in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and Dakar, Senegal.

NSIA Technologies has since 2013 offered 'secured' co-location, cloud and managed services from its Abidjan datacentre.

According to a media statement, the joint venture will acquire NSIA Technologies' existing Abidjan datacentre and also develop a second data centre in Dakar, Senegal.

The venture will target telcos, ISPs and financial institutions across member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) which include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

The facility will have the advantage of access to all key fibre networks in Abidjan, reads the statement.

PAIX believes the JV will allow NSIA Technologies to focus on its core IT services business, whilst the new datacentre business will facilitate the growing demand for colocation and interconnection services in the region.

Further expansion of the facility capacity is planned to meet increasing demand, the companies say – and this will be done in a modular way, when required in order to match supply with demand says Wouter van Hulten, CEO of PAIX.

Ange Diagou, CEO, NSIA Technologies said, "Our partnership with PAIX will ensure that we bring world-class carrier neutral data centre operations to Ivory Coast and UEMOA Countries. We will be able to serve the growing requirements for colocation services from the highly secure data centre facilities, building the heart of Ivory Coast's and West Africa's digital economies. We look forward to working with PAIX to build a large community of interest and support the rapid development of e-commerce and financial markets in West Africa."

Van Hulten added, "Our investment in this joint venture with NSIA Technologies is development of datacentre infrastructure in West Africa, a region of the continent with growing demand for online services, and consequently, a reliable infrastructure. Côte d'Ivoire is a key regional network hub for West Africa. We have received strong interest from our international customers to further develop the infrastructure in Abidjan and are thrilled to have found a strong local partner in NSIA Technologies, to build a world-class operation in Abidjan."

There is no time frame attached to the JV.

In February 2018 PAIX confirmed its investment in West Africa Data Centres Ltd. (WADC) Ghana, trading as 'Rack Africa'.

The investment marked the launch of PAIX's colocation services in Ghana and West Africa as part of its strategy of building a Pan-African data centre platform.