Egypt Concocts Consortium to Set Up its First Sovereign AI Data Center

On 8 September 2026, Vodafone Business, Cassava Technologies and Elsewedy Electric signed an agreement to build the first #AI data center in Egypt, as witnessed by Egypt’s ICT Minister Rafaat Hendy. The special purpose vehicle (SPV), with continental ambitions, called Africa Data Centers (ADC), will be created and registered in Egypt for the implementation.

Each partner brings something to the Project. Vodafone Business delivers cloud services to enterprises. Cassava Technologies has experience building and operating data centers across Africa. Elsewedy Electric will be responsible for providing the energy and building the infrastructure. ADC plans to procure the latest Nvidia AI chips, or Graphics Processing Units (GPU).

Vodafone Egypt’s VP Mahmoud El-Khatib highlighted that the Project combines global expertise with local capabilities to build a world-class digital infrastructure capable of delivering AI applications via the cloud computing model. In addition, the Project meets Egypt’s regulatory requirements to have the data stored locally, along with the necessary cybersecurity and data protection levels.

In the initial phase, the data center will start with a capacity of 20 MW, but plans to expand to 200 MW. The Project is expected to take three years before it becomes operational. In the first phase, Egypt expects to attract approximately USD 200 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), with total investments reaching USD one billion upon completion of the full capacity.

Moreover, Minister Rafaat Hendy stated that the Project will create 200 direct jobs and support 2,000 indirect jobs in construction. The workforce will be involved in the construction, operation and management of the data center.