Vodacom breaks ground on Egypt data centre with $200 million first phase, targeting $1 billion

Vodacom has broken ground on a data centre in Egypt with about $200 million expected in first-phase foreign direct investment, part of a regional AI-first strategy its group chief technology officer set out. BusinessLIVE reported the plans on October 18, 2026.

Vodacom's Egypt Data Centre With Elsewedy Electric

Vodacom is building the facility through its Vodafone Business unit in partnership with Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies, launching Africa Data Centres Egypt. Dejan Kastelic, Vodacom group chief technology officer, told Business Day the group will use its own GPUs across two spaces, one for internal usage and one for external usage.

Phase one is expected to draw about $200 million (R3.3 billion) in foreign direct investment, with total investment reaching $1 billion once full capacity is reached. Elsewedy Electric submitted a feasibility study to Algeria's Prime Minister's Office in October 2026 for a factory producing electric and hybrid cars under the Ezz Elsewedy brand, according to WAYA.

Kastelic said Kenya "will be the second node where we plan to build the GPUs as a service and then the last one will be South Africa," referring to facilities that let customers use its computing infrastructure. Vodacom already has 12 data centres in South Africa. "But we are starting small. We don't go big now, we are not going to [install] a large number of GPUs," he said.

Vodacom's AI-First Push Across Africa

Vodacom Group is a JSE-listed African mobile communications, digital, and financial services company serving over 237 million customers across 8 African countries through mobile voice and data, the M-Pesa mobile money platform, and enterprise managed services, according to akta.pro company records. The group is majority-owned by Vodafone Group Plc.

Company records show Vodacom completed the acquisition of majority control, 55%, of Safaricom from the Kenyan government for approximately $1.6-2 billion in March 2026, and that Kenya's appellate court unblocked the $2 billion Safaricom stake sale to Vodacom in April 2026.

Earlier Vodacom Infrastructure Moves

Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal announced a ZAR 1 billion capital investment in network infrastructure for the 2027 financial year, Telecompaper reported in October 2026. Vodacom Western Cape is investing over R500 million in network infrastructure this financial year, focusing on 5G expansion, modernisation, and energy resilience, TechAfrica News reported in October 2026.

Vodacom South Africa marked the one-year anniversary of its commercial virtual wheeling venture with Eskom, Telecompaper reported in October 2026. The agreement, signed in 2023, has moved from pilot design into proven operational execution.

What Comes After Egypt

Kastelic said the group will roll out adapted versions of its deployments in smaller markets once experience is gained in Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. Vodacom sat down with Nvidia and a number of partners to chart its strategy.