By Onyeka Ezike

Africa is on the cusp of becoming one of the world’s most strategic destinations for artificial intelligence infrastructure, Prateek Suri, a top investment executive has highlighted the continent’s vast land resources, renewable energy potential, and booming digital population as key factors that could define the next decade of global technology development.

Prateek Suri, who heads investment operations across several emerging markets under the Maser Group, made the assertion while speaking on the rapidly shifting dynamics of global AI infrastructure development.

According to Suri, the unprecedented surge in demand for computing power driven by artificial intelligence is fast outpacing the capacity of traditional technology hubs in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa stands uniquely positioned to fill that gap.

He said, “AI requires enormous computing capacity and energy resources,” he said. “Africa has the space, the renewable energy potential, and the young digital population that could make it a leading destination for AI data infrastructure in the coming years.”

Suri, whose group has been expanding investments across emerging markets, said a subsidiary of Maser Group has already acquired approximately 1,800 acres of land across several African countries for the development of AI-focused data infrastructure and technology hubs and also owns multiple gold and copper mines in the African continent.

The land acquisitions are part of a deliberate long-term strategy to support large-scale computing infrastructure as demand for AI processing capacity continues to grow worldwide.

Sure further emphasized that Africa was still early in building large-scale digital infrastructure, which means the opportunity to design next-generation AI facilities from the ground up is significant.

However, energy is a key advantage of Africa’s future. One of the strongest selling points Suri identified for the continent is its untapped renewable energy reserves, which he said could address one of the biggest challenges facing the global AI industry power consumption.

“AI data centres consume enormous amounts of electricity. Africa has vast potential in solar and other renewable energy sources, which could support sustainable digital infrastructure,” he noted.

Also, technology companies globally are facing mounting pressure to reduce the environmental footprint of data facilities, which typically require massive energy inputs to power servers and cooling systems.

Industry analysts note that the global search for suitable data centre locations has increasingly turned toward emerging markets, with companies now prioritising a mix of reliable power supply, affordable land, stable regulatory environments, and access to international fibre connectivity.

Data sovereignty push has enabled several African governments to begin an enforcement in data sovereignty policies, encouraging technology firms to host data within national or regional borders rather than routing it through overseas servers, a development Suri believes will accelerate local infrastructure investment.

The Chairman of Maser Group expressed confidence that governments on the continent are waking up to the strategic importance of digital infrastructure, noting that rising internet penetration rates and expanding digital economies are already creating strong domestic demand for local data processing capacity.

Sure said, “The next wave of digital infrastructure will not be limited to traditional tech centres,” Suri said. “Africa has the opportunity to position itself as a major participant in the global AI economy.”

Some experts tracking the AI infrastructure space say that regions combining land availability, sustainable energy capacity, and investor-friendly policy environments are increasingly being courted by major technology firms looking to expand beyond saturated Western markets.

For Africa, analysts say, the decisions made over the next ten years could determine whether the continent becomes not just a consumer of digital technologies but also a major host of the infrastructure that powers them.