Africa’s digital economy is scaling at an unprecedented pace. Teraco and NAPAfrica are building the interconnected backbone that makes it all possible. From fast and reliable content delivery and access to global cloud on-ramps to colocation facilities, we explore how the continent’s largest neutral data centre ecosystem is propelling Africa into its next growth phase.
NAPAfrica recently surpassed five terabits per second of peak traffic, a milestone that solidifies South Africa’s role as the continent’s primary digital connection point. By keeping African traffic on African soil, the exchange slashes latency, trims transit costs, and unlocks richer user experiences – from binge-worthy streaming to mission-critical enterprise workloads.
NAPAfrica currently has 2,244 physically connected ports and a total connected capacity of 41.5Tbps. This is in addition to offering direct access to more than 656 unique networks (ASNs) spanning 50 countries and becoming the first African Internet Exchange Point (IXP) to introduce 400Gbps interconnects.
Furthermore, NAPAfrica is 100% neutral; members pay zero port, cross-connect, or membership fees – maximising value while accelerating regional internet maturity.
With more than 27,500 physical cross-connects, Teraco is Africa’s most interconnected data centre hub and South Africa’s only truly neutral colocation provider, operating eight data centres across the country, including five in Johannesburg. Teraco recently completed significant expansions at several facilities to enhance its infrastructure and meet growing demand from clients.
Why it matters
1. Economic growth – Faster, cheaper connectivity attracts foreign direct investment (FDI) from tech giants and stimulates local innovation.
2. Digital inclusivity – Free peering lowers barriers for emerging African ISPs, levelling the digital playing field.
3. Future-proof bandwidth – 400Gbps ports and multi-10Tbps fabric headroom meet tomorrow’s AI and Extended Reality (XR) demands.
4. Sustainability – Keeping traffic local reduces carbon-intensive international backhaul and supports green-energy initiatives at Teraco sites.
Looking ahead
As mobile and broadband adoption soars – fuelled by cloud, AI, streaming, and gaming – Teraco and NAPAfrica are doubling down on capacity, reach, and neutrality. Expect continued facility expansions, more regional cache nodes to reduce last-mile distance, and new 400Gbps participants, and ever-higher peak traffic records.
The world connects to Africa at Teraco, and Africa connects to the world through NAPAfrica.
