en.Wedoany.com Reported - African data center operator Raxio Group plans to launch Tanzania's first carrier-neutral, Tier III data center in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam this year. Named TZ1, the data center covers an area of 4,000 square meters, accommodates 800 racks, and has an IT capacity of 6 MW, with the ability to create customized environments based on demand.
This data center is the latest facility to be completed in Tanzania, the second-largest economy in the East African Community. In addition to TZ1, Tanzania has 11 other data centers, as the government and private sector work to meet the growing demand for digital infrastructure driven by digital progress.
Raxio Group CEO Robert Skjodt told CNBC Africa that the company sees the same appeal in Tanzania as in its other six markets. He noted that Tanzania has good connectivity, high and rapidly growing operator capacity, a very strong financial sector, and access to electricity. These indicators suggest that now is a good time to expand into Tanzania, a plan that has been in the works for three to four years.
The Tanzanian government is committed to driving the digital economy transformation to achieve socio-economic goals. In 2024, the government released the Digital Economy Strategic Framework 2024-2034, which includes provisions for creating a favorable environment for ICT infrastructure development. The country also benefits from the SEACOM and EASSy submarine cables, which connect it to the rest of Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The TZ1 data center will leverage this connectivity to provide IP transit to Tanzania's landlocked neighbors, including Rwanda, Burundi, and Zambia. This also benefits Raxio Group, which has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, both of which border Tanzania.
The company stated that with the expansion coming online, the number of power contracts signed in the first half of 2026 was six times that of 2025. It also expects demand for future projects to exceed 10 MW. Skjodt said that demand for high-quality data center infrastructure across Africa continues to accelerate, driven by rapid digital adoption, cloud migration, and the emergence of numerous AI workloads.
The company reported that its funding pool has grown to $380 million, as shareholders Meridiam and Roha have increased their support for the company's next phase of growth, with demand growing sixfold this year. These funds will be used to support the company's expansion, as higher-performance computing and AI workloads require denser racks.
Raxio's move comes as demand for AI-ready capacity accelerates across the continent. Mordor Intelligence estimates that the Middle East and Africa AI data center market was valued at $2.51 billion in 2026 and is expected to reach $8.24 billion by 2031. Frontier markets like Tanzania are still building foundational colocation capacity, and the demand Skjodt is betting on is just beginning to take shape.
