South Africa, April 3 -- Digital demand on the continent is surging, but infrastructure remains scarce. Africa accounts for less than 1% of the world's data centre capacity even as mobile data usage grows by around 40% annually - nearly double the global average, according to US advocacy group Internet Society.

The debt funding by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) - its largest such investment to date in Africa - reflects rising interest from global institutions in the continent's digital economy, where mobile money, AI-driven services and cloud-based platforms are rapidly expanding. Hosting data locally reduces costs, improves speeds and gives governments more control over cybersecurity and regulation.

"Data cent...