Côte d’Ivoire is set to open its first state-owned data centre, marking a significant step toward strengthening digital sovereignty, cybersecurity and control over the country’s digital infrastructure.
The National Data Centre is being built within the VITIB (Village of Information Technologies and Biotechnology) free zone in Grand-Bassam, near Abidjan. The facility is expected to open next year as the government works to modernise public services and expand its digital infrastructure.
The centre will provide 1.73MW of IT capacity, supported by 3MW of total power capacity, with 228 racks and 10 petabytes of storage. The infrastructure is intended to provide secure local capacity for government systems and digital services.
The project is being delivered by Washington-based infrastructure firm Cybastion in partnership with Ivorian construction company Porteo Group. Technology partners involved in the wider project have included Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Schneider Electric.
The US Export-Import Bank approved a $66.1 million guarantee for the data centre in August 2025, representing EXIM’s first data centre transaction in sub-Saharan Africa. The guarantee forms part of a larger $170 million EXIM-backed package covering the data centre, a government digitisation platform and a border surveillance system.
Construction had passed the 20% mark by December 2025, while the government has continued integrating the project into a broader digitalisation agenda. The initiative is also linked to Côte d’Ivoire’s wider 2025-2030 national development plan, which identifies digital infrastructure as a key driver of economic growth.
The facility reflects a growing trend across Africa, where governments are increasingly viewing data infrastructure as a matter of digital sovereignty. Local data centres can help countries retain sensitive government, financial and telecommunications data within their borders while improving resilience and cybersecurity.
Côte d’Ivoire is joining other African countries pursuing sovereign digital infrastructure. Gabon opened its first sovereign Tier III-certified data centre in Nkok in July 2026, while Rwanda has operated national data infrastructure under its Smart Rwanda programme and maintains strict data residency requirements.
Until now, Côte d’Ivoire’s data centre market has largely been driven by private operators. Companies including Equinix, PAIX Data Centres and Stellarix have established facilities in Abidjan, while Raxio Group opened the country’s first Tier III-certified carrier-neutral facility, Raxio CIV1, in September 2024.
ST Digital also inaugurated a Tier III facility in the VITIB zone in 2025, highlighting the growing demand for local infrastructure as businesses and governments seek greater control over data and digital services.
Despite this growth, Côte d’Ivoire currently has only a small number of operational data centres, with most concentrated around Abidjan. This leaves the country behind Africa’s larger digital infrastructure markets, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt.
The state-owned National Data Centre is therefore expected to play an important role in expanding Côte d’Ivoire’s digital capacity while supporting public-sector modernisation, cybersecurity and the government’s broader digital transformation strategy.
