Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa’s Cassava Technologies and Vodafone Business are partnering to develop Egypt’s sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure, launching what they describe as the country’s first AI factory.

The project will enable businesses and government entities to develop, train and operate AI applications locally while keeping data hosted within Egypt.

It is designed to strengthen the country’s ability to process data, attract technology investment and establish Egypt as a regional hub for artificial intelligence and advanced digital infrastructure.

Cassava, Vodafone target sovereign AI

The partnership will give Egyptian organizations access to NVIDIA accelerated computing technologies through Vodafone Business and Cassava Technologies, the first NVIDIA cloud partner in Africa.

The move reflects a broader shift among countries seeking to complement global public cloud services with localized sovereign computing and AI-optimized cloud infrastructure.

For Egypt, the AI factory is expected to provide greater control over sensitive data while strengthening cybersecurity and accelerating the adoption of AI applications across businesses and government institutions.

The partners also expect the project to support new investment in advanced data centers, expand technology skills and create jobs in AI and innovation.

Accelerated computing is increasingly central to modern AI, supporting the training and inference of increasingly sophisticated models at scale. The partnership will also provide access to NVIDIA ecosystem training and enablement programs to help Egyptian organizations develop the skills needed to deploy and manage AI systems.

Cassava positions Africa for AI growth

Mahmoud El-Khatib, vice president of enterprise business at Vodafone Egypt, said the partnership represents a major step in the company’s technology strategy and commitment to Egypt’s digital infrastructure.

“Through this collaboration, we are strengthening Egypt’s AI infrastructure capabilities and developing sovereign AI solutions by leveraging locally hosted global technologies that ensure data residency within Egypt,” El-Khatib said.

Ahmed El Beheiry, group chief technology and AI officer and CEO of Cassava AI, said the partnership is intended to give African businesses a greater role in developing technology rather than simply consuming it.

“For Cassava, contributing to building Egypt’s AI ecosystem is an act of empowerment, not just a technological milestone,” he said.

Vodafone, Cassava expand technology footprint

Cassava Technologies is a global technology company of African heritage headquartered in the UK, with operations across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the U.S.

Its businesses include Cassava AI, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid Cloud and Cyber Security, Africa Data Centres and Sasai Fintech. Together, they provide products and services to customers in 94 countries.

Founded by Masiyiwa, whose net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion, Cassava has increasingly positioned itself around Africa’s digital infrastructure and AI opportunity.

Vodafone Egypt, meanwhile, is Egypt’s largest mobile network operator by active subscribers, serving more than 44 million customers. The company began operations in May 1998 as Click GSM and is managed from Smart Village Technology Park in Giza/Cairo.

The AI factory forms part of Vodafone Egypt’s investment plans of more than EGP 20 billion ($391 million) during the current fiscal year. That builds on more than EGP 125 billion ($2.4 billion) invested in Egypt over 28 years, underscoring the company’s long-term commitment to the market.