CASSAVA Technologies (Cassava) has entered a strategic collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) resources across Africa, aiming to integrate the continent’s development sector into the projected US$1,2 trillion global AI economy.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cassava will provide high-performance computing capacity to The Rockefeller Foundation’s network of grantees.
The initiative focuses on leveraging technology for social impact, specifically targeting organisations working to improve livelihoods and productivity in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.
“AI presents Africa with one of the best opportunities to drive economic development and access to economic opportunity for the continent’s youth. This requires investment in ensuring that AI developers across Africa have the resources and platforms to create solutions to Africa’s unique challenges,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
“Powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, our AI factory will enable startups, enterprises, the public sector, and educational institutions to focus on developing AI applications using local datasets, languages, models, and voices to build inclusive solutions. We are excited to partner with the Rockefeller Foundation to bring local compute capacity to Africa’s AI ecosystem.”
While nearly one-in-five people worldwide lives in Africa, the continent currently has less than 1% of global data center capacity. Africa’s AI market, which is currently estimated at $5.17 billion, is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. Locally accessible computing capacity is necessary to power Africa’s AI ambitions.
“AI can be transformative in the right hands, contributing to healthier communities, more productive farmers, and better education for children. If we get AI right in Africa, we can help Africans create jobs, advance opportunity, and pursue their dreams,” said Rajiv Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.
“Our collaboration with Cassava reflects The Rockefeller Foundation’s foundational belief that the latest advances in science and technology should serve everyone, not just the fortunate few, and that includes empowering African innovators with the tools they need to shape the continent’s future.”
Through the collaboration, Cassava and The Rockefeller Foundation are ensuring that African-led innovations in the agriculture, healthcare, and education sectors have resources to improve outcomes with AI.
This year, Cassava launched its GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), housed in its secure data center facilities, powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
The company continues to invest in the infrastructure across additional hubs in East, West and North Africa; thereby reinforcing its broader commitment to responsible AI adoption, innovation and productivity growth in Africa.
The collaboration highlights Cassava’s commitment to ensuring that GPUaas is accessible to organizations working throughout the social sector.
Cassava Technologies, a technology company of African heritage, provides a vertically integrated ecosystem of digital services and infrastructure enabling digital transformation.
Headquartered in the UK, Cassava has a presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States. Its business units include Africa Data Centres, Cassava AI, Liquid Cloud and Cyber Security, among others.