Data center result of almost $57 million investment
Visa has launched its first data center in South Africa.
Located in Johannesburg, the data center saw around R1 billion ($56.9m) in investment.
As reported by Reuters, the investment is part of Visa's plans to invest $1bn in Africa over the next five years, which was announced in 2022.
Speaking at the launch, Visa's head of Southern and East Africa Michael Berner said: "Visa continues to be very committed to the growth of the economy on the continent and building the data center, which is frankly one of very few that are built outside of our core locations, which are the US, the UK and Singapore, is evidence of this commitment."
Berner further said that the data center would enable Visa to use "emerging technologies," such as generative AI, in payment services.
"When we look at South Africa, we really see it as a digital innovator and a digital leader on this continent. So having this data center here can actually be a launch pad for solutions that we take across the continent," added Lineshree Moodley, country manager for Visa South Africa.
Details about the data center - its exact location, capacity in MW, or size - have not been provided. DCD has contacted Visa for further information.
Earlier this year, Visa revealed it would be developing a data center in Nigeria. Details about that data center were similarly sparse, and DCD never received a response to requests for comment.
Visa has four other data centers - two in the US, one in the UK, and one in Singapore. The UK and Singapore data centers were first announced in 2017. In 2022, Visa announced that its Virginia data center would be powered by 100 percent solar energy.
South Africa's data centers are mostly located in Johannesburg. Operators in the region include NTT, Equinix, Africa Data Centres, MTN, and Teraco, among others. The latter recently completed its eighth data center in the country.
