FIRST ON FOX: could become the next major frontier for data centers and Artificial Intelligence, experts say.
The Trump administration is backing and promoting American companies to make , in their words, the gold standard. The U.S. is trying increasingly to grab business opportunities in Africa, as backlash and environmental restrictions hit data center development in the U.S. and Africa.
“Africa is emerging as a significant potential location for building AI infrastructure, especially as many mature markets face increasing environmental and power constraints,” Abhishek Goyal, Consultant at specialist research group Arizton Advisory & Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.
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He added, “The continent could become the next major frontier for AI infrastructure development. As the U.S. and Europe encounter challenges such as power scarcity, grid congestion, permitting issues and environmental regulations, Africa’s underdeveloped infrastructure presents an opportunity rather than a disadvantage.”
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “We are committed to ensuring that American AI â including enabling infrastructure like data centers â continues to be the gold standard worldwide, and that we remain the partner of choice for foreign governments and businesses who are seeking to upgrade their telecommunications networks and AI capabilities.”
Amongst other deals, this year with U.S. help, an American company has won a $6.2 billion deal in Lesotho in Southern Africa for a data center and hydropower plant.
In the central African country of Gabon, the U.S. Embassy helped win $600 million in business for American companies in 2025. And this year, the embassy in this central African country has assisted in securing a $100 million contract to supply two data centers and a gas-to-power plant, in the face of strong competition from .
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Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia previously told Fox News Digital, “Under President Trumps leadership, the United States is assisting U.S. companies to find new markets and flourish in Africa.”
“Africa is experiencing a data center boom, but it begins from a very small base,” Arthur Goldstuck told Fox News Digital. Goldstuck is CEO of South African technology research group World Wide Worx, and author of “The Hitchhikers Guide to AI â The African Edge.”
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Goldstuck said that because of a lack of capacity currently, “Africa will not replace either market as any kind of center of global computing. Rather, its attraction lies in serving a rapidly growing African cloud market, and processing African data closer to the people and businesses that generate it.
But Goldstuck said that data center growth is fueled by local needs on the continent. “It is a boom by African standards. Africa remains far behind the U.S. and Europe
