Unicloud Africa has launched a sovereign cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) network spanning six African countries Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, and Mozambique marking a significant stride toward the continent’s digital and financial independence.
The launch, announced at a media briefing in Lagos and later detailed in a company statement on Saturday, aims to give African governments and enterprises greater control over their data while reducing reliance on foreign cloud providers.
Speaking at the unveiling, Ladi Okuneye, Chief Executive Officer of Unicloud Africa, described the initiative as “a strategic shift towards Africa’s digital and financial sovereignty.”
“For too long, African enterprises have been constrained by the high costs and compliance risks of offshore cloud platforms. Unicloud Africa provides world-class infrastructure with local currency billing, zero egress fees, and ISO-certified, in-country data management,” Okuneye said.
Operating under the banner “One Cloud, One Africa,” the new network is built in partnership with TouchNet, a leading African technology firm specialising in large-scale digital infrastructure. Together, both companies aim to deliver secure, scalable, and locally optimised cloud services tailored to the continent’s realities.
The Unicloud platform is structured around three core pillars financial sovereignty, certified security, and AI acceleration.
Under its financial sovereignty framework, Unicloud will allow customers to pay in local currencies, insulating businesses from exchange rate volatility and hidden costs. The company is also eliminating data egress fees a common cost in global cloud systems and offering flexible, pay-per-use models to ease IT infrastructure expenses.
On the security front, all sensitive data including that used in finance, healthcare, and government operations will be hosted and processed within each participating country, ensuring compliance with local data regulations. The company has also achieved ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 certifications for information security and business continuity management.
Meanwhile, its AI Acceleration programme will provide GPU-as-a-Service, enabling organisations to access high-performance computing power for large-scale data processing and AI model deployment without heavy upfront investment.
TouchNet CEO, Charly Bahous, said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to Africa’s digital growth.
“We are delivering secure, scalable AI cloud infrastructure that empowers African businesses and governments to modernise operations and secure their data locally,” he said.
Also commending the project, Ayotunde Coker, Chief Executive Officer of Open Access Data Centres, described the launch as a pivotal step for the continent’s digital economy.
“Fully localised cloud infrastructure is critical to Africa’s economic growth and digital sovereignty,” Coker noted. “Platforms like Unicloud are laying the foundation for a truly unified African digital ecosystem.”
With its rollout across six countries, Unicloud Africa aims to establish a continent-wide cloud and AI network that supports innovation, safeguards local data, and strengthens Africa’s position in the global digital economy.
“Our mission is simple,” Okuneye said. “To deliver a secure, high-performance, and sovereign cloud platform that empowers Africa to build its digital future on its own terms.”
