Microsoft has announced significant investments in South Africa’s cloud infrastructure, aiming to secure land for future data centre expansion and enhance the readiness of its operations’ water and power supply.
During a presentation, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, revealed the company would invest US$329 million to boost data centre capacities within the country while also focusing on training South Africans in artificial intelligence (AI) skills. This investment, as reported to MyBroadband, is part of Microsoft’s plan to broaden its local cloud presence.
Smith stated, “This investment will cover securing land for future data centre growth, improving power and water readiness, and increasing capacity in our existing data centre regions.” Microsoft emphasised that cloud infrastructure is essential for South Africa’s digital future, supporting the continuity of public services, bolstering business resilience, and offering opportunities for local communities.
The US$329 million investment builds on Microsoft’s previous US$1.2 billion in infrastructure contributions. Smith highlighted that AI relies on three primary layers: infrastructure, model, and application. He noted the importance of the infrastructure layer in South Africa, likening it to the need for a power station to have electricity. “You can’t have AI without data centres,” he reiterated.
Data centres play a crucial role by providing the data needed to develop and train AI models. Smith elaborated on this cycle, stating that infrastructure supports model creation, which in turn enables the development of applications, further advancing the ecosystem.
Microsoft is already collaborating with local AI firms, such as Lelapa AI, to develop multilingual large language models tailored for African languages.
In addition to its infrastructure efforts, Microsoft initiated its AI Skills initiative in South Africa in January 2025. This global project has already engaged four million learners and trained 1.4 million individuals, resulting in nearly 500,000 certified citizens.
To enhance access to AI education, Microsoft partnered with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in January 2026. This collaboration seeks to ensure that digital skills are accessible nationwide.
The partnership aims to integrate AI fluency modules and refresh digital literacy pathways on the SABC+ on-demand streaming platform, which currently has over 1.9 million registered users and about 25% actively engaging with the content. This provides a robust platform for democratising future-ready skills.
Tiara Pathon, the director of Microsoft Elevate AI skills in South Africa, expressed that the SABC collaboration is about embedding digital and AI skills into the lives of many South Africans. “AI can be a powerful bridge to opportunity, enabling learners, educators, and job seekers to access practical, credentialed pathways to prepare for the future,” she stated.
As part of this initiative, a “Microsoft AI Skills” section has been added to the SABC+ education catalogue, featuring content on AI fundamentals, generative AI, responsible AI use, and other topics.
