- Cassava Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Zindi, Africa’s largest professional network for data scientists
- The collaboration aims to deliver transformative AI solutions and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) across Africa to accelerate digital transformation
- Cassava’s advanced GPU infrastructure will enhance Zindi’s data science platform, fostering innovation among developers and startups
Harare-Cassava Technologies, a global technology leader with African roots, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Zindi, Africa’s largest professional network for data scientists, to deliver transformative artificial intelligence solutions and GPU-as-a-Service across the continent.
This partnership aims to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation by fostering innovation and empowering local talent to address pressing challenges in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and finance.
The collaboration leverages Cassava’s advanced GPU infrastructure to power Zindi’s pioneering data science platform, creating a dynamic environment for developers and start ups to craft homegrown solutions.
This initiative builds on Cassava’s strategic partnership with NVIDIA, unveiled in March 2025, to construct Africa’s first AI factory a groundbreaking project to provide the computational backbone for AI innovation.
These alliances positions Africa to overcome historical barriers, nurture its AI ecosystem, and claim a significant role in the global AI economy.
The Cassava-Zindi partnership is designed to catalyse Africa’s AI landscape by combining technological skills with local expertise.
Cassava’s GPU-as-a-Service capabilities will enable Zindi’s AI challenge platform to develop tailored solutions for African problems, while a dedicated AI challenge will nurture emerging talent, fostering entrepreneurship, building skills, and creating job opportunities.
By exploring ways to integrate their platforms, both organisations aim to expand access to critical resources for African innovators.
“For Africa’s AI ecosystem to grow and thrive, it is essential to provide platforms and resources for the continent’s developers and start-ups. Cassava is proud to support local stakeholders as they develop digital solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing problems.” Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies said.
According to Zindi, only 5% of African Al practitioners have access to sufficient computational power, limiting the continent's participation in the global Al boom.
Therefore ,Cassava plans to invest up to US$720 million to deploy NVIDIA's GPU-based supercomputers and Al software, starting in South Africa by June 2025, with expansions to Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
The initial phase will deploy 3,000 NVIDIA GPUs, scaling to 12,000 over three to four years, providing African businesses, governments, and researchers with access to advanced Al computing for model training, fine-tuning, and inference while keeping data within Africa for security and compliance.
As a NVIDIA Cloud Partner, Cassava leverages energy-efficient, high-performance architectures to strengthen Africa's technological sovereignty, reducing reliance on foreign cloud platforms.
Despite the promise, Africa's Al journey faces challenges, including unreliable power grids and widespread reliance on lower-grade smartphones, which could complicate efficient Al model deployment. The high cost of advanced computing infrastructure remains a hurdle, though Cassava's investments aim to bridge this gap.
Experts like Alex Tsado of Alliance4Al praise these efforts as a big step in the right direction, emphasising their role in democratising Al development.
Cassava's partnerships with Zindi and NVIDIA mark a turning point for African technology, laying the groundwork for a tech-driven future rooted in African innovation.
As the Al factory comes online in South Africa by mid-2025 and Zindi's challenges unearth new talent, Africa stands on the cusp of a technological renaissance, poised to emerge as a global contender in the Al revolution through collaboration, ambition, and homegrown ingenuity.
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