Cassava, Accenture Partner To Scale Sovereign AI Across Africa

Cassava Technologies has entered a partnership with Accenture to expand its sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) capability across Africa, starting in South Africa and later moving into Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.

Accenture will apply its AI Refinery™ platform and other technologies to design and deliver sovereign AI solutions using Cassava’s GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), which operates from Cassava’s secure data centres and is powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure. The initiative will allow customers to process AI workloads and data within national borders in line with local regulations.

“AI is opening up exciting new opportunities for sparking innovation, advancing competitiveness and driving growth across Africa,” said Mauro Macchi, CEO of Accenture for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “With our deep, global experience in sovereign cloud and AI, Accenture will help Cassava deliver secure, scalable sovereign AI solutions and reimagine its operations. Together, we will enable organizations across the African continent to adopt AI with confidence and unlock new ways to create value.”

Cassava will rely on its pan-African high-speed, ultra-low-latency fibre broadband network, which interconnects the company’s energy-efficient data centres, to power AI computing workloads.

“With our GPUaaS, Cassava will drive the continent’s AI revolution by allowing businesses to access compute power based on their individual needs. This is our commitment to ensuring Africa has the infrastructure and access it needs to compete in the AI era, AI isn’t just a technology story; it’s a nation-building story with inclusion at its centre,” said Ahmed El Beheiry, CEO of Cassava AI. “Collaborating with Accenture allows us to leverage their global expertise in building a sovereign AI cloud capability designed for the African market. This partnership will strengthen data governance, drive practical AI adoption across key industries, and ensure that we provide African solutions for African challenges.”

The two companies will integrate regional context, languages, and cultural nuances into the AI solutions to ensure relevance for sectors such as financial services, mining, telecommunications, agriculture, and healthcare. This localized approach aims to enhance compliance, build trust, and ensure technology reflects African market realities.

Cassava plans to invest in infrastructure and platform build-out to enable scalability, security, and compliance, reinforcing its commitment to responsible AI adoption and productivity growth across the continent.