• Maser Group plans to invest US$1.6 billion in agriculture and data centre infrastructure across Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya
• Africa’s heavy food import dependence and acute shortage of data centres are driving renewed investor interest, with demand for local data-hosting capacity expected to require up to US$20 billion in new investment by 2030
• Zimbabwe features among markets being assessed for public-private partnerships, but converting interest into capital will depend on bankable contracts, policy consistency and reliable power and currency frameworks

Harare - Maser Group, a closely held Dubai-based consumer electronics manufacturer,  plans to invest US$1.6 billion across Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya over the next 24 months, targeting large-scale agricultural projects and technology infrastructure.

The investment is aimed at addressing Africa’s widening food import dependence and accelerating demand for local data-hosting capacity, as governments and businesses seek greater supply-chain resilience and digital sovereignty.

Maser has already deployed US$300 million into land acquisitions and other asset-backed investments, signalling a shift from exploratory positioning to execution and long-term capital deployment.

Founded in 2014, Maser Group built its footprint selling affordable household electronics — including televisions, refrigerators and washing machines  across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt

The strategy comes against a backdrop of deepening structural pressures across African economies. Despite vast tracts of arable land, the continent remains heavily dependent on food imports.

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Africa spent more than US$83 billion on food imports in 2023, driven by climate shocks, under-capitalised farming systems, fragmented land tenure and weak logistics networks.

At the same time, Africa’s digital economy is expanding faster than its physical infrastructure can support. Cloud computing, fintech platforms, artificial intelligence applications and e-government services are driving demand for secure, localised data storage.

However  data centre capacity remains scarce. McKinsey & Co a premier global management consulting firm estimates that Africa’s data centre demand will rise to 2.2 gigawatts by 2030, from about 0.4 gigawatts currently, requiring as much as US$20 billion in new investment.

This imbalance has forced many African firms and public institutions to host critical data offshore, raising costs and exposing vulnerabilities around latency, regulatory compliance and data sovereignty.

The bulk of the new investment will be channelled through MDR Investments LLC, a Maser unit managing a US$500 million fund, alongside Chia Ventures, a People’s Insurance of China-backed investor that holds a 30% stake in the group.

MDR is also pursuing public-private partnerships (PPPs) with governments in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Rwanda and Nigeria, spanning agriculture, mining and low-cost housing.

Maser is additionally in discussions with technology partners in Taiwan for joint ventures to establish data centres in Africa, reflecting the increasing role of Asian capital and expertise in the continent’s digital infrastructure build-out.

The investment case for African data centres has been reinforced by the scale of commitments already made by established players. Cassava Technologies, founded by Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, has positioned itself as the continent’s largest indigenous digital infrastructure platform through businesses such as Africa Data Centres and Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

Cassava operates data centre facilities in key markets including South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, and has announced multi-billion-dollar investment plans to expand capacity across Africa.

Its expansion has helped validate data centres as bankable, long-term infrastructure assets rather than speculative technology plays, particularly as demand from cloud providers, fintech firms and governments accelerates.

Maser’s move aligns with a broader resurgence of interest in African “real economy” assets. Gulf investors have increased exposure to farmland and agri-logistics in East Africa, while Chinese and Indian firms remain active in agro-processing, mining and industrial zones. Western capital has been more selective, focusing on fintech, renewable energy and digital infrastructure tied to scalable revenue models.

However, execution remains uneven. Large-scale agricultural investments have often faced land governance disputes, community resistance and policy reversals.

Data centre development remains concentrated in a handful of markets  notably South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya where power reliability, fibre connectivity and currency convertibility are stronger.

Governments have responded with mixed success. Continental initiatives such as the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) have sought to raise agricultural productivity, while national digital strategies increasingly emphasise data localisation, cloud policy and cybersecurity. Implementation, however, has lagged ambition.

Zimbabwe features among the markets where MDR Investments is exploring PPP opportunities, reflecting cautious renewed investor interest despite persistent macroeconomic challenges.

The country has made efforts to revive commercial agriculture through irrigation rehabilitation, joint-venture farming models and contract farming schemes, particularly in wheat, maize and horticulture. These initiatives have stabilised output in select crops, but financing constraints, currency volatility and infrastructure bottlenecks continue to limit scale.

On the digital side, Zimbabwe’s data centre ecosystem remains underdeveloped, constrained by power supply instability and limited hyperscale demand. Nonetheless, rising fintech adoption, government digitalisation initiatives and regional connectivity projects are gradually reshaping the investment landscape, opening space for smaller, modular data centre developments linked to regional networks.

Zimbabwe’s challenge is not a lack of investor interest, but its readiness to convert that interest into durable capital. To align with the investment outlook shaping platforms such as Maser and MDR Investments, Zimbabwe will need to prioritise commercially viable, irrigated agriculture aimed at import substitution, underpinned by clear land rights and guaranteed offtake.

At the same time, treating data centres as critical infrastructure tied to power reliability, fibre connectivity and regional demand  will be essential. Ultimately, capital will flow not to where incentives are loudest, but where policy is predictable, partnerships are bankable and execution is credible.

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