AI and data centres took centre stage on day one at the Enlit Africa 2026 conference, as various panels either concentrated on digital aspects, or inadvertently turned back to the topic of the day.
A morning panel consisting of Group Executive for Data Centres at Cassava Technologies Angus Hay, vice president for Africa at The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Carol Koech, and vice president of the electric power digitalisation business unit at Huawei Jacky Wang, agreed that South Africa has an excellent opportunity for hosting and driving renewable projects as its location makes it suitable for building or hosting data centres, with AI playing a central role.
“Renewable energy is the new oil because its demand is increasing. There’s no reason why AI platforms should not be deployed in South Africa as this can be done anywhere in the world.
“We are capable of hosting because fibre connectivity is available globally as there is mobility. Globally we are a single market in terms of communications.
“And as a country we have a lot of untapped resources, which gives us the ability to convince the world that we can be a destination for spending funds for development,” said Hay.
He added that not many people are aware that cloud computing was invented in South Africa. “It was indeed invented right here in Cape Town when Amazon established the Amazon Development Centre and asked a South African expert to start a software development programme, as well as the team to go with it.
“That’s how Cape Town today has so much cloud capability, which creates a real opportunity. So we can combine local expertise, local development and sovereignty of our data. The country must not focus on being a follower, while it can be the leader.”
Koech added that sovereignty is fundamental for AI, even though there is a perception that artificial intelligence generally lies in the cognitive domain.
“The reality is that most real-world AI locations, particularly in an enterprise environment and a utility environment, are private data that you have to mine to run your operations.
“So when you’re looking at the deployment of AI, particularly within a government context, you’re talking about having to control the platforms that are running that AI, not putting it somewhere else in a cloud, far away. So control is something pretty fundamental.”
Wang said forward-looking countries focusing on future technologies are the ones who win when it comes to generating efficient energy using new innovations.
“If you look at the Fourth Industrial Revolution, right at the heart of it you will see that the countries that are winning are those focusing on future technologies.
“And this is really what we need to be doing, looking at energy and AI as two sides of the same coin in terms of development.”
He added that international companies like his are cognisance of the fact that AI and digital technology are significantly shaping Africa’s energy systems. “That’s why we accept that we must keep having conversations with leadership figures in Africa that are driving the continent’s energy future.”
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