Robert Skodt, CEO at Raxio Group, started the second day of the event by talking about the challenges and potential of building data centres in frontier markets.

“We decided to commence our journey in frontier markets as the first mover. We’re the first ones coming in with carrier-neutral Tier III independent data centres,” he said during his keynote address. “The way we look at Africa is that these countries have large, young populations. Together with urbanisation, these cities are becoming major centres for digital infrastructure.”

Raxio has committed to strengthening its data centre footprint across Africa, currently active in six countries across East Africa – with a seventh in Tanzania due to start next year. Skodt explained that the company has commissioned data centres that it can replicate quickly.

“We’re seeing whether international companies can come in, because we know they need infrastructure that’s independent so they can become competitive,” he said. “We’re also seeing digital transformation – here in Kenya, governments are moving to cloud services as well. On this continent, more countries now have data residency requirements.”

But it’s not just about building quickly, Skodt explained, but also about considering local need, regulations and stability.

“Leaping into a frontier market requires a strong appetite for risk,” he said. “Every project takes time and significant investment. When we go into these markets, there are some basics everyone needs – whether it’s demand, transportation, logistics, security, customs, or power.

“One of the key things we look at regionally is political stability. Political stability isn’t about whether there are disruptions or conflicts, but about how quickly the country comes back to normal afterward. That’s what we look at before making investments. This is a resilience that Africa is famous for and what companies like Raxio are looking for.”

Raxio typically does staged construction, where it builds one facility and commissions 500 kilowatts (kW), which Skdot said during his keynote costs roughly $5 million and takes six months to commission.

“We build to Tier III standards by design and with future expansion in mind, though I could be wrong in my projections. I think we’re among the few who build to this standard consistently, whether it’s mechanical, electrical, or other systems,” Skodt said. “Our biggest challenge is finding skilled resources, which can be a problem. We have to balance local talent development with bringing in international expertise.”

The company also builds operational excellence through local teams, ensuring that its data centres across Africa are mostly run by local people. Skodt said this is to balance being international with “thinking local”.

He said: “We can train people – the key is having the right foundation. Sometimes we bring in international management and our team has been traveling extensively.”

When it comes to the challenge of powering data centres across Africa, companies like Raxio understand that infrastructure financing requires different approaches.

“If you get it wrong, you face serious operational issues,” Skodt said. “Every aspect of our business model has to account for these realities. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.”

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