Equinix EMEA President speaks to Africa expansion

Equinix, a leading global infrastructure company, has announced plans to expand its presence in Africa with the construction of new data centers in Nigeria. The company is also eyeing broader investments across the continent by 2026 to meet the increasing demand for data solutions in West Africa. Bruce Owen, the president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Equinix, discussed the integration of Main One, Nigeria's Main One, following its acquisition in 2022. He highlighted the cultural alignment and the successful merger of customer sets between Equinix and Main One. The integration has allowed Equinix to bring 10,000 customers together and establish a strong presence in West Africa. Owen emphasized the company's focus on internet service provision, cable business, and data center business to drive connectivity and economic growth in the region. Equinix plans to invest $140 million in expanding two facilities in Nigeria over the next two years to meet the growing demand from cloud service providers and customers looking to expand into the region. The company's confidence in the Nigerian business environment stems from the signals of data center expansion from the government and the increasing interest of cloud service providers in the market. Owen highlighted the significance of data centers in driving economic development, emphasizing their role as the engine room of the economy. He discussed the importance of governments recognizing the value of data centers and their contribution to underpinning economic growth, citing the increasing demand for data center capacity globally. Owen noted that while the demand for data solutions is still emerging in Africa compared to developed markets, the continent is showing promising signs of growth in digital adoption. Equinix is currently working on three major data center projects in Nigeria, with plans to expand in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and South Africa. Despite competition from firms and telecom companies entering the data center market, Equinix sees new entrants as symbiotic and continues to provide services to a wide range of service providers. The company faces unique challenges in Africa, such as access to power, planning, and political support for data center growth. However, Equinix remains committed to long-term investments in the region due to the access to talent and growth potential. Owen highlighted the impact of AI on data center demand, with the next wave focusing on inference workloads that will drive the need for space, power, cooling, and connectivity in data centers. The company's focus on resilience and multiple power feeds ensures uptime and operational efficiency despite security threats. Owen shared his commitment to bringing capacity online in key markets to meet customer demand and drive continued growth in digital infrastructure across Africa.