Safaricom has announced a strategic partnership with Kenya’s iXAfrica Data Centres to deliver services to enterprise and cloud solutions clients through the new NBOX1 hyperscale data center in Nairobi.
The first phase of the NBOX1 facility, which was launched in February 2025, houses 780 racks and features 4.5 MW of IT capacity. It’s also part of a larger 22.5 MW campus.
According to Safaricom, the new partnership with iXAfrica includes a collaborative go-to-market strategy, dedicated enterprise and cloud suites starting at 350 kW with scalability to over 1 MW, and integrated connectivity solutions that leverage both companies’ strengths to serve businesses across East Africa.
Read More: Safaricom M-Pesa and LakiPay Team Up to Enhance Digital Payments in Ethiopia
Safaricom said its end-to-end enterprise solution offers an integrated infrastructure stack from colocation (2U+) and connectivity to cloud, managed services, cybersecurity, and business resilience.
“Safaricom’s partnership with iXAfrica will enable enterprises and businesses to use NBOX1 to run advanced workloads and artificial intelligence (AI) in Kenya, ensuring data sovereignty, compliance, and speed,” said Safaricom CEO, Dr. Peter Ndegwa.
“As East Africa’s digital economy continues its rapid expansion, businesses increasingly require robust, scalable, and secure infrastructure solutions that can support the next wave of innovation, including AI workloads,” he added.
Also Read: Safaricom Partners with Health Ministry to Digitize Healthcare Payments
iXAfrica has crowned NBOX1 as the first hyperscale data center in East Africa optimized for AI-driven workloads.
“By combining our purpose-built, world-class, AI-ready infrastructure with Safaricom’s unparalleled market presence and customer relationships, we’re creating a digital ecosystem that will accelerate innovation and growth across the region,” said iXAfrica Chairman, Guy Willner.
iXAfrica is currently developing two more data center facilities in Nairobi: NBOX1.2, with a designed IT capacity of 18 MW, and the 11-acre NBOX2 Tilisi campus, which will provide 53 MW of capacity.
