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SUMMARY:Catalysing Data Centre Investment for Africa’s High-Performance 
 Computing and Climate Action through the Digital Investment Facility (DIF)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251203T113000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251203T130000Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260711T091002Z
UID:indico-contribution-2962@events.chpc.ac.za
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Mulalo  Mphidi (GIZ)\nThe rapid growth of Africa’s
  data-intensive research\, artificial intelligence (AI)\, and high-perform
 ance computing (HPC) workloads is driving unprecedented demand for resilie
 nt and sustainable data infrastructure. Data centres are emerging as criti
 cal enablers of scientific discovery\, cloud adoption\, and digital innova
 tion\, yet the region continues to face significant barriers: limited loca
 l hosting capacity\, reliance on international facilities\, high latency\,
  data sovereignty concerns\, and a shortage of investment-ready projects.\
 nThe Digital Investment Facility (DIF)—a Team Europe initiative co-funde
 d by the European Commission\, Germany\, and Finland\, and implemented joi
 ntly by GIZ and HAUS—addresses these gaps by boosting investment in gree
 n and secure digital infrastructure\, with a focus on data centres and Int
 ernet Exchange Points (IXPs). Operating as a project preparation and advis
 ory facility\, DIF supports projects from early design to contract closing
 \, enhancing bankability through technical and financial advisory services
 \, pre-feasibility studies\, ESG integration\, and investor matchmaking.\n
 Crucially\, DIF embeds a climate nexus at the core of its work. By promoti
 ng energy-efficient\, renewable-powered data centres and aligning with ISO
  50001 energy management standards\, DIF ensures digital infrastructure pr
 ojects contribute directly to climate action and the implementation of Nat
 ionally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Greener data centres reduce emiss
 ions from digital growth\, enhance resilience through disaster recovery ca
 pacity\, and enable the digital tools required for climate adaptation (e.g
 .\, climate modelling\, earth observation\, and early warning systems).\nA
 t CHPC\, DIF will showcase how its approach enables data centres to meet t
 he demanding requirements of HPC and advanced research—providing low-lat
 ency access\, high-availability colocation\, and sustainable cloud platfor
 ms that can host scientific datasets and AI workloads. The presentation wi
 ll highlight the emerging pipeline of African digital infrastructure proje
 cts\, the application of international standards\, and the opportunities f
 or researchers\, policymakers\, and investors to collaborate in building a
  digitally sovereign and climate-aligned HPC ecosystem in Africa.\n\nhttps
 ://events.chpc.ac.za/event/155/contributions/2962/
LOCATION:Century City Conference Centre 1/1-7 - Room 7
URL:https://events.chpc.ac.za/event/155/contributions/2962/
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