Dan Kwach has re-joined Africa Data Centers (ADC), the data-centre arm of Cassava Technologies, as Executive for AI Data Centres. This move comes less than a year after his departure from the company. Kwach expressed his excitement to be back in Nairobi, where he began his career with Kenya Data Networks in 2006. He spent nearly 19 years with the ADC group, rising to Managing Director for East Africa in 2021.
During his previous tenure at ADC, Kwach oversaw significant milestones, including the construction of East Africa's first Uptime Institute-accredited Tier III data centre in Nairobi. He also played a key role in the launch of the ADC East Africa brand. After leaving ADC in December 2025, Kwach had a brief stint as Deputy CEO Holding at STELLARIX, a carrier-neutral Tier III data-centre and cloud firm in Madagascar.
Kwach's new role involves designing, building, and operating data centres specifically for artificial-intelligence workloads. These facilities will require higher power per rack, advanced cooling systems such as liquid-cooling, and dense GPU installations. Cassava's AI-factory concept, developed with Nvidia, envisions facilities packed with GPUs and software that enable both model training and inference services.
The AI-factory concept is part of Cassava's plan to offer AI-focused data centres across Africa. The rollout will start with an AI-focused centre in South Africa, followed by planned expansions into Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria. Although specific launch dates and pricing for the Kenyan market have not been disclosed, the company aims to provide these services on a pay-as-you-go basis.
ADC already operates the NBO1 facility in Nairobi's Sameer Industrial Park, which offers 7.5 MW of site capacity across four data halls. However, it is unclear how much of this capacity is earmarked for AI or whether GPUs are already installed. Kwach emphasized the importance of local AI-ready data centres in keeping the value of AI adoption on the continent.
Many African firms are eager to adopt AI in sectors like finance, health, and agriculture. However, reliance on overseas compute would divert value abroad. Local AI-ready data centres could keep that value on the continent, according to Kwach. This move is expected to support the growth of AI adoption in Africa and provide opportunities for local businesses.
With Kwach at the helm, Cassava Technologies is poised to play a significant role in the development of AI-focused data centres across Africa. The company's plans to expand its AI-factory concept to multiple countries will likely have a substantial impact on the continent's technology landscape. Key initiatives are underway to support the growth of AI adoption in various sectors.
Key points
- Dan Kwach rejoins Cassava Technologies as Executive for AI Data Centres to lead the development of GPU-rich facilities across Africa.
- Cassava's AI-factory concept, developed with Nvidia, aims to provide AI-focused data centres on a pay-as-you-go basis.
- The rollout of AI-focused data centres will start with South Africa, followed by expansions into Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
