Africa’s push to build a larger hyperscaler and cloud economy is expanding beyond data centres and cloud services, with policymakers, infrastructure operators and investors increasingly focusing on power, connectivity, regional trade and the policy frameworks needed to support digital growth.
That broader agenda will take centre stage at Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026 in Lagos on September 4, where continental leaders will examine what is required to build the infrastructure for Africa’s next digital economy.
Amine Idriss Adoum, director of Infrastructure, Energy, Industrialisation, Trade and Regional Integration at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will deliver the keynote address at the third edition of the conference, which is themed ‘Africa’s Great Digital Buildout.’
His participation puts the continent’s digital infrastructure expansion within a wider development agenda that links infrastructure and energy with industrialisation, trade and regional integration.
The conference comes as African countries seek to expand cloud adoption, prepare for artificial intelligence and strengthen digital trade, while addressing the infrastructure constraints that can limit the scale of those ambitions.
The discussions will cover data centres, cloud infrastructure, connectivity, energy, digital infrastructure financing, data sovereignty, AI readiness and regional market integration.
Temitope Osunrinde, executive director, Africa Hyperscalers, said the participation of AUDA-NEPAD and other continental institutions was important because digital infrastructure was increasingly connected to wider economic development.
‘Digital infrastructure can no longer be treated simply as a telecommunications or technology issue. It is becoming fundamental to Africa’s competitiveness, industrialisation, trade and economic integration,’ Osunrinde said.
He said the conference would seek to connect digital infrastructure investment with the markets, institutions and policy frameworks needed to make Africa’s digital economy operate at scale.
The gathering will bring together policymakers, regulators, investors, data centre operators, technology companies and enterprise leaders, reflecting the increasingly interconnected nature of Africa’s digital infrastructure market.
Among the confirmed speakers are Bill Kleyman, Global Data Centre chair, Informa and CEO, Apolo.us; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres; Gary Chomse, regional director at Vertiv; and Dotun Adekunle, COO/CTO of OPay.
Other participants include Fiona Asonga, CEO of Kenya’s Technology Service Providers Association; Begna Gebreyes, senior vice president, Investments, Africa Finance Corporation; Muhammed Rudman, CEO of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria; Guy Zibi, managing partner at Xalam Analytics; Josephine Sarouk, managing director of Bayobab Nigeria; and Nonye Ujam, director of Government Affairs, West Africa, Microsoft.
The presence of infrastructure, finance, telecommunications and government stakeholders points to a shift from building individual facilities to creating an ecosystem capable of supporting sustained digital demand, in the conversation around Africa’s hyperscaler opportunity.
Power availability, resilient connectivity, access to capital and cross-border market integration are therefore being placed alongside cloud and data centres in discussions about the continent’s digital infrastructure future.
Osunrinde said decisions made over the next decade would influence Africa’s digital position for years to come. ‘Africa’s digital future in 10 to 20 years will depend on the infrastructure decisions being made today,’ he affirmed.
He added that the objective was to address practical questions around demand, capital, regulation, connectivity, cloud, data centres, AI and sovereignty.
The conference will also honour several figures who have contributed to Africa’s telecommunications and digital infrastructure development, including Andile Ngcaba, Funke Opeke, Strive Masiyiwa, Alan Knott-Craig Sr, Chris Wood and Ernest Ndukwe, former Nigerian Communications Commission executive vice chairman.
Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and Internet Society Distinguished Technologist for Internet Growth Michuki Mwangi are also among those to be recognised. The late Khaled Bichara, co-founder of Orascom Telecom, and Mohamed Nasr, former CEO of Telecom Egypt, will also be recognised.
Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026 is hosted by The Africa Hyperscalers Company, with NITDA as Institutional Partner, Xalam Analytics as Research Partner and Nina Jojer Africa as Knowledge Partner.