Cloud computing has taken the world by storm in a very short time, with organisations, globally, adopting the technology and making use of its vast potential. While companies across industries in the developed world have seen its immense potential and have been quick in shifting their applications to the cloud, developing countries that were typically slow on the uptake have been catching up rapidly. Countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ivory Coast have already caught up with the technology trends with a considerable number of enterprises in these countries shifting their applications to the cloud.

The rest of Africa, however, has not been as fortunate in seeing a cloud boom. While markets like Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Cape Verde, Congo-B, DRC etc. may not enjoy the proximity to global hyperscale cloud availability regions, nor have a thriving technology community to boast of, these countries have a huge amount of latent demand for cloud in the form of local enterprises, SMBs, healthcare, education and financial institutions. A modern cloud marketplace is a unique business problem. It has to strike a balance between vertical and horizontal marketplaces.

With data localisation on its way to becoming the norm everywhere, the generally expensive internet costs and the weak exchange rates against the USD, there is an opportunity brewing for telcos and local service providers to step in and fill the cloud void. This white paper explores the challenges and how they present a multi-million dollar revenue opportunity and a business case for in-country public clouds in Africa.

1. State of the Cloud in Africa
2. The African Challenge
3. The Absence of the Big Four and the Opportunity for the Local Providers
4. The Mantras for Building an In-country Cloud Business
5. Conclusion