African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has agreed to invest $90m of growth equity through its latest pan-African infrastructure fund, African Infrastructure Investment Fund 4 (AIIF4) in N+ONE DATACENTERS (N+ONE), an African data center owner and operator.

The proceeds will be used to develop a new Pan-African data center and cloud services platform with a short-term target capacity of 40 MW. 

The platform will focus on the development of hyperscale and wholesale carrier-neutral facilities to provide solutions to enterprise, government and hyperscale customers across the continent. 

The partnership with AIIM paves the way for N+ONE to further expand its existing campuses in Morocco and Senegal while developing new hyperscale locations in response to customer demand. 

“N+ONE is an exciting success story having built market-leading facilities in Morocco, and demonstrating its ability to meet customer needs with its comprehensive portfolio of products and services,” said Moritz Breickmann, Investment Director at AIIM. “With this partnership, we are seeking to replicate N+ONE’s success in new markets by building a pan-African data center platform that provides customers with trusted solutions across several countries and addresses the increasing demand for data storage and processing on the continent.”

AIIM's extensive infrastructure investment track record in Africa, with multiple digital infrastructure investments across the telecommunications towers, data center and fibre sub-sectors, coupled with an active asset management strategy to support high-performing management teams alongside its ability to provide substantial growth capital, were key factors in forming the alliance.  

The $90m contribution will support the roll-out of the platform and construction of greenfield data center infrastructure across West Africa. 

The investment will add to AIIM’s current portfolio of digital infrastructure assets and accelerate digitization on the continent. There is currently more than 300MW of installed IT load in Africa, the majority of which is in South Africa. Exponential growth in data generation and consumption in combination with an increased focus on data sovereignty will result in the onshoring of data onto the continent. 

With data center demand expected to grow to over 1GW by 2030, significant investment is needed to support the growth potential of the continent’s digital economy.

The joint platform aspires to bridge Africa's current digital infrastructure gap by providing world-class facilities and services to stimulate the expansion of local businesses and enable multinational companies to extend their African operations. AIIM and N+ONE's commitment to alleviating Africa's digital gap stands as a testament to their dedication to unlocking the continent's tremendous digital economy potential.

N+ONE recognizes the pivotal role that digital infrastructure plays in accelerating digital transformation, fostering innovation, and driving economic growth. With a deep understanding of the African market, N+ONE aims to consolidate its position as a key player in helping to shape the digital future of the continent.

“We are thrilled to introduce our collaboration to the African market," said Amine Kandil, Founder and CEO of N+ONE. "Our vison is to deliver regionally interconnected hyperscale data centers, built and operated to highest industry standards. This launch represents a significant step toward realizing that vision.”

This is the sixth commitment made out of AIIM’s AIIF4 fund, a thematic investor targeting growth infrastructure opportunities within the digital infrastructure, energy transition and mobility and logistics space.