Sustainable data centres in Africa, supporting the local economies and digital transformation in the region

Background

In March 2021, Meridiam partnered with Roha Africa to co-develop a platform of carrier-neutral, co-location data centres of international (Tier III) standard across Africa under the “Raxio” brand. The objective is the design, finance, construction and O&M of 7 sites.
The investment is made in the context of the African economies leapfrogging and becoming increasingly digitalized thereby driving up the demand for the use of data centres, while available local capacity remains under-developed. The offerings cater the specific needs of financial services, telecoms, cloud service providers, corporates as well as government agencies. New sites are developed with a modular design to adapt to future client needs.

Stage

Financial Close

ESG/SDG Key Facts

Raxio has an up-to-date E&S Risk Assessment (based on IFC Performance Standards) in place. A group E&S and Sustainability Officer has been focusing on building E&S frameworks and finalising key E&S deliverables in the context of the senior debt financing. Ivory Coast, DRC and Mozambique now have local EHS representatives overseeing the E&S activities of the sites and will be reporting to the Group E&S Manager for the ease of effective management. Ethiopia is in the process of recruiting its own EHS representative.
The project maintains good relations with key local stakeholders in each of its markets by building its network of data centres with a focus on environmental sustainability and with the objective of driving technological advancement in the region, Raxio delivers impact across a wide range of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 8, 9 and 11.
In particular, Raxio is paying close attention at maximising the energy, carbon and water efficiencies of its design:

• Raxio’s data centres are designed with a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.3-1.35 which benchmarks well not only for Africa but also globally. Grid capacity is generally available in the locations of the first sites, where the vast majority of power production is coming from hydro. To date, Raxio Uganda (only operational site) has been able to achieve a 1.38 PUE and is expected to reach the design PUE of 1.3 based on operational efficiencies being implemented and increased power usage.

• As part of Raxio’s effort to ensure the deployment of environmentally friendly backup power solution for countries with less grid-up time, it was able to obtain a PIDG technical assistance grant to conduct a study on the feasibility of renewables. In line with that, the RFP has been finalized and sent out for the engagement of a consultant to prepare a technical and economic feasibility study in relation to the integration of solar and other renewables into the energy mix of a Tier III Data centre in Mozambique and Ivory Coast. The team has received a proposal from four different firms, and it is currently reviewing them.

The study will also explore more generally the use of other types of climate positive technologies including but not limited to
hydrogen fuel cells and batteries and how this can be adopted into the proposed data centres.

• With Meridiam’s support, Raxio will also start in developing a low-carbon development charter and associated process in 2024.

• Raxio’s site design utilises an Indirect Adiabatic Cooling (IAC), a cooling method which is overall more environmentally friendly than Computer Room Air Conditioning unit systems found in many data centres (and most DCs in Africa) which use refrigerant gases having a polluting effect. The locations being targeted typically benefit from unused ground water, which is unfit for consumption by humans and animals.

• To date, the Ugandan project has created more than 200 employment opportunities for local community members during the civil works and M&E kit out phases, with knowledge transfer of new technologies.

• As part of the financing, all environmental and social CPs and authorizations are in place. Items under the agreed ESAP are also under active works and are on-track to be delivered on time. In line with that, lenders have also mandated WSP as their E&S advisor to monitor Raxio’s E&S performance, and its compliance with the relevant national and international requirements (the Applicable Requirements) as outlined in the financing documents.