African entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa has spent decades building the telecommunications infrastructure connecting African businesses and consumers. Now, the Zimbabwean billionaire is making another ambitious bet. Masiyiwa is building the computing power that could determine how much of Africa’s artificial intelligence economy is built on the continent.

Through Cassava Technologies, the entrepreneur is pursuing an AI infrastructure project in partnership with NVIDIA, the American technology company whose chips have become central to the global AI boom. The plan could involve an investment of up to $720 million, according to Bloomberg’s April 2025 reporting, with computing facilities planned across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. Bloomberg

Strive’s ambition goes beyond putting powerful computers inside African data centres. AI models require substantial computing capacity to be trained and operated, but access to that infrastructure remains a major obstacle for many African startups, researchers and businesses. Companies that cannot afford to build their own systems often have to depend on computing resources hosted elsewhere, adding potential costs, connectivity challenges and questions about where their data is processed.

Masiyiwa wants to help curtail that gap. Cassava’s AI Factory initiative is designed to render businesses, governments and researchers access to NVIDIA-powered computing resources so they can develop, train and run AI applications closer to home. The potential applications stretch across financial services, agriculture, healthcare, education and other industries where locally relevant technology could solve practical problems. Cassava Technologies

The strategy also builds on infrastructure Masiyiwa has spent years developing. Cassava operates across digital infrastructure, connectivity and data-centre services, giving it a foundation from which to expand into AI computing. In March 2025, Masiyiwa described the NVIDIA partnership as his biggest undertaking since building Liquid Intelligent Technologies’ pan-African fibre network. That comparison reveals the scale of his ambition.  Masiyiwa is not simply looking to sell access to AI tools, but to help establish the infrastructure on which African companies can build their own products.

Yet the opportunity comes with significant challenges. AI factories require enormous capital, reliable electricity, strong connectivity and customers willing to pay for computing capacity. Establishing the infrastructure is only one part of the equation; Cassava must also turn that capacity into a sustainable business while helping African developers acquire the skills to use it. The planned expansion across five markets will also need to translate into operational facilities and commercially viable services.

The larger question is whether Africa can move beyond consuming technologies developed elsewhere and become a more active producer of the intelligence, applications and businesses shaping the AI era. A $720 million infrastructure commitment will not solve the continent’s digital challenges on its own. But if Cassava can make advanced computing more accessible and commercially useful, it could help create opportunities for entrepreneurs who otherwise struggle to get the resources their ideas require.

The next phase of Africa’s AI race will not be decided by algorithms alone. It will also depend on who can supply the computing power, connectivity and infrastructure that turn those algorithms into real businesses. Masiyiwa is betting that Cassava can become part of that foundation.