Pan-African data centre operator, Raxio Group, has secured land at Addis Ababa’s ICT Park, upon which it will build Ethiopia’s first private uptime certified Tier III colocation data centre.
The move comes as Ethiopia prepares to open up its state-run telecommunications industry to international investment, in a move that will potentially revolutionise the country’s ICT and digital business sectors. The data centre will be commissioned in Q3 2021.
Raxio Ethiopia will offer its customers an optimised environment for their IT equipment in a state of the art, modular facility, fully equipped with industry best in technology, security, AC/DC power compatibility and redundancy. Customers will be able to cross connect with local and international carriers and other customers in specially-designed meet-me rooms, making Raxio Ethiopia an integral backbone to the country’s digital economy.
“Following the holistic reform that our nation is undergoing, new mobile operators are expected to be licensed soon; as a result, our internet usage is projected to rapidly grow. It is our belief that Raxio Ethiopia will play a paramount role in strengthening and developing the country’s digital infrastructure capabilities. We consider our corporation’s collaboration with Raxio in the development of the ICT Park, which is expected to contribute to the significant growth of the ICT sector, as a great achievement” says Ato Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Industrial Parks Development Corporation.
Ethiopia represents an enormous opportunity for international telcos, business operators and service providers alike, as Africa’s second most populated country on the continent and the fifth largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia’s economy is set to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2021, with digital services contributing significantly to its growth.
“Raxio’s facilities enable companies such as mobile network operators, content delivery networks and financial service providers to run their critical IT systems in a built-for-purpose, always-on environment. With our module build, we will be able to support growth quickly and tailor our build to the needs of our customers. Raxio Ethiopia will provide a critical and missing part of the nation’s digital infrastructure at an exciting and fast-evolving time in the broader telecoms sector in the country. We are pleased to be moving forward with developing Ethiopia’s first privately owned data centre and to have collaborated closely with the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) and the ICT Park in reaching this important milestone,” said According to Robert Mullins, President of Raxio Group.
In a bid to meet the increased demand for storage and data hosting in East and Central Africa, Raxio is planning to open 10-12 new facilities, with the next facilities likely in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
