It was only last January during the groundbreaking ceremony that ADC was confident its new data storage facility would be ready by mid-year. But today, nearly 18 months later, no construction has started. Where did things go wrong?
Supply Chain Disruptions and Geopolitical Tensions
According to interim CEO at ADC, Finhai Munzara, the delay resulted from unforeseen factors—supply chain disruption and geopolitical tensions experienced last year. These global events made securing essential equipment for the facility much more difficult than anticipated.
"Some of the critical equipment needed for the facility has long lead times, and unfortunately, these timelines were affected by global geopolitical events and supply chain issues," Munzara said.
Progress in the Initial Stages
Although delays have occurred, Munzara noted that substantive progress has been made in the early stages of the project. "We've already finished about 50% of the work in terms of design and tendering; what's left is implementation and actual construction," he said. ADC hopes the additional capacity will go live within the next 12 to 18 months.
Growing Demand for Cloud Storage in Kenya
This expansion is based on Kenya's fast-growing demand for cloud storage services, which is increasing faster than the current data center capacity in the country. While the existing facility can handle present needs, almost half of the capacity of the upcoming facility has already been pre-booked by existing clients, indicating that demand is set to rise significantly with the growth of Kenya’s digital economy.
ADC to Build Africa's Largest Data Center
Upon completion, the ADC facility will have a capacity of more than 25 megawatts, making it the largest data center in Eastern and Central Africa, and one of the largest on the continent. This will be a key asset to propel Africa's ongoing digital transformation.
The Shortage of Data Centers in Africa
Despite its large population, Africa hosts only a single-digit percentage of the world's data centers. This small capacity is strained by the fact that the continent carries nearly 20 percent of the world's population.