Amini, Foxconn and Bull to extend sovereign AI infrastructure across Africa and the Global South
Artificial intelligence infrastructure company Amini has formed a strategic partnership with electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn and high-performance computing specialist Bull to accelerate the development of sovereign AI infrastructure across Africa and other emerging markets, the companies announced at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
The collaboration is designed to help governments, telecom providers, banks, energy firms and public institutions deploy and operate industrial-scale AI infrastructure locally, rather than relying on overseas cloud and computing providers. It marks Foxconn’s first dedicated AI infrastructure initiative focused on African markets, with Amini acting as the company’s strategic regional partner.
Closing the ‘sovereign compute gap’
Amini, a Kenyan company that focuses on sovereign AI infrastructure and localised computing capacity, said the agreement aims to address what it describes as a “sovereign compute gap” across Africa and the wider Global South. The firm, founded in 2022 by Kate Kallot, initially concentrated on environmental data and climate tech using satellite data and AI to provide insights on biodiversity, soil health and crop health. It has secured significant seed funding, including $4m led by Salesforce Ventures and Female Founders Fund. Kallot, who previously held leadership roles at NVIDIA, Arm and Intel, has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI.
Foxconn – Hon Hai Technology Group – is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of AI servers and advanced computing hardware. It will provide modular AI data centre systems tailored to local operating conditions and regulatory requirements. The company has been actively expanding its AI server production, with significant investments in the United States and a strategic pivot towards higher-growth, enterprise-focused segments.
Bull, a specialist in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing systems, will support systems integration and regional deployment through its existing collaboration with Amini.
According to the companies, the partnership comes as demand for AI-powered services accelerates across sectors including finance, telecoms, energy and public administration. Industry forecasts cited by the partners estimate that Africa’s digital economy could reach a value of $1.5tn by 2030, while the continent’s data centre market is expected to grow from $3.49bn in 2024 to $6.81bn by the end of the decade, representing a compound annual growth rate of 11.76%. Demand for data centre capacity is projected to reach 1.5 to 2.2 GW by 2030, driven by AI adoption, cloud computing, big data and the increasing deployment of 5G networks.
The firms argue that locally hosted AI infrastructure could help African nations retain greater economic value, strengthen regional technology ecosystems and improve data sovereignty. This aligns with a growing trend across Africa to assert digital sovereignty and control over data, driven by concerns about economic extraction, national security and privacy. A significant portion of data generated in Africa is currently stored outside the continent.
Modular data centres as a practical alternative
The initiative focuses heavily on modular AI data centres, which are intended to provide a more practical alternative to traditional hyperscale facilities. Unlike large-scale conventional data centres that often require years of construction and stable power infrastructure, the modular systems can reportedly be deployed in under 12 months and scaled incrementally as demand grows.
For emerging markets, the benefits of modular AI data centres are substantial. Africa still faces significant challenges including power reliability, regulatory environments and infrastructure readiness. Modular systems are designed to be rapidly deployable, scalable and cost-efficient, making them particularly well-suited to the continent’s diverse needs. They can be deployed in phases, allowing operators to add capacity only when required, which reduces upfront capital expenditure and aligns with real-world demand patterns.
A McKinsey report cited in the research briefing highlights that the winning model in Africa is likely to be small, modular and phased, anchored by tenants. Modular data centres can also be built to withstand challenging environmental conditions, offering greater resilience in regions where power grids are unreliable. This flexibility is critical for supporting AI workloads, which require high-density computing and cooling but can be distributed across multiple smaller facilities rather than concentrated in a single hyperscale campus.
Kallot said the project was focused on ensuring emerging economies can participate in the AI economy on their own terms. “AI is becoming foundational infrastructure for every economy, yet most of the world still lacks the compute capacity required to participate on its own terms,” she said. “This partnership ensures that Africa and the Global South can acquire, own, and operate AI infrastructure locally, with sovereignty and long-term economic value at its core.”
Foxconn’s Head of AI & Quantum, Jesse Chao, said infrastructure must be designed specifically for African operating conditions rather than adapted from existing global models.
Bull said the partnership reflects a wider push towards regional computing independence and sovereign digital capability.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the Africa Forward Summit – which took place on May 11-12, 2026 – described the collaboration as an example of international cooperation centred around digital sovereignty. He said the agreement between African, European and Taiwanese companies demonstrated the growing importance of reducing technological dependency in the global AI race.
