A strategic partnership between and Cassava Technologies (Cassava), a global leader in African technology, has been reached to expand Cassava’s autonomous AI capabilities throughout Africa.
Using Cassava’s GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), which is housed in Cassava’s secure data centre facilities and accelerated by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, Accenture will design and deliver sovereign AI solutions by utilising its AI Refinery™ platform and other technologies. With these solutions, Cassava’s current and prospective clients can process AI workloads and data domestically while adhering to regional laws and regulations.
The initiative will start in South Africa and eventually spread to Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. The expansions Cassava plans to make at its other data centre facilities throughout Africa are consistent with this phased rollout.
Cassava will power AI computing workloads by utilising the company’s pan-African high-speed, ultra-low-latency fibre broadband network, which links the company’s energy-efficient data centres.
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Accenture and Cassava’s reactions
Reacting to the development, Mauro Macchi, CEO of Accenture for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, stated, “AI is opening up exciting new opportunities for sparking innovation, advancing competitiveness, and driving growth across Africa. With our deep, global experience in sovereign cloud and AI, Accenture will help Cassava deliver secure, scalable sovereign AI solutions and reimagine its operations. Together, we will enable organisations across the African continent to adopt AI and unlock new ways to create value confidently.”
Ahmed El Beheiry, CEO of Cassava AI, said, “With our GPUaaS, Cassava will drive the continent’s AI revolution by allowing businesses to access compute power based on their needs.
“This is our commitment to ensuring Africa has the infrastructure and access it needs to compete in the AI era – AI isn’t just a technology story; it’s a nation-building story with inclusion at its centre.
“Collaborating with Accenture allows us to leverage their global expertise in building a sovereign AI cloud capability designed for the African market. This partnership will strengthen data governance, drive practical AI adoption across key industries, and ensure that we provide African solutions for African challenges.”
Cultural considerations
The two companies will collaborate to incorporate the local context, languages, and cultural quirks into these AI solutions, ensuring that the services and solutions are applicable and beneficial to African businesses in essential industries like banking, mining, telecommunications, healthcare, and agriculture.
Thanks to this localised approach, businesses can innovate sustainably and meaningfully. This approach will also ensure that the technology reflects the realities of the markets it serves and improve compliance and trust.
As part of its larger commitment to responsible AI adoption, innovation, and productivity growth in Africa, Cassava will invest in the infrastructure and platform build-out to ensure readiness for commercialisation, emphasising scalability, security, and compliance.