How big is Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?

Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region has 80 MW of known IT capacity, located in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It ranks #247 globally by capacity among 335 tracked facilities.

What is the status of Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?

Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is currently operational. Known timeline milestones: Earliest market signal 2019.

Who operates Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?

Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is operated by Microsoft. Structured intelligence reports are available for Microsoft Operator Report and South Africa Country Report.

What energy source does Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region use?

Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is powered by mixed energy and is focused on mixed workloads. This is backed by 2 cited sources.

AI data center dossier

Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region

Name: Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region
Address: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa/datacenters/microsoft-south-africa-ai-region.html

Operational Mixed 80 MW Mixed

Country

South Africa

Operator

Microsoft

Energy

Mixed

Known capacity

80 MW

Evidence profile

Readiness reflects whether the record has citations, narrative context, structured power data, coordinates, and at least one dated milestone.

Readiness

100%

Sources attachedVerified

2 citations linked

CoordinatesPublished

-26.2041, 28.0473

Timeline evidencePartial

1 dated field available

Machine-readable outputsPublished

HTML, JSON, and GeoJSON all available

Machine-readable outputs

Canonical record surfaces for audit, programmatic use, and direct citation.

Canonical HTML

/datacenters/microsoft-south-africa-ai-region.html

JSON record

/datacenters/microsoft-south-africa-ai-region/index.json

GeoJSON geometry

/datacenters/microsoft-south-africa-ai-region/index.geojson

Record Notes

Microsoft Azure's South Africa regions (South Africa North in Johannesburg, South Africa West in Cape Town) are the continent's most significant cloud infrastructure investment. The Johannesburg region is the primary hub for AI workloads across Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting enterprise customers, financial institutions, and telecoms from Nigeria to South Africa. Microsoft has invested over $100 million in African AI skills development through its Africa Transformation Office, recognizing that compute access drives AI adoption. The infrastructure powers Azure AI services including OpenAI API access for African enterprises — a significant capability given that many African AI startups are building on top of OpenAI models. Eskom power instability (South Africa's chronic load-shedding) has required significant investment in backup generation capacity.

Taxonomy Links

Microsoft

South Africa

Operational

Mixed

Under 100 MW

Mixed

Africa

Africa

2019

Johannesburg

Analyst Flags

No obvious coverage gaps detected in the current structured record.

Timeline Signals

Earliest market signal2019

Nearby Facilities

Other tracked AI data centers within 300 km of this location.

Cassava AI Data Center (South Africa)

0 km

Johannesburg, Southern Africa, South Africa Under Construction

Google Cloud — Johannesburg Africa Region

0 km

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa 60 MWOperational

Microsoft Azure — South Africa North Region (Johannesburg)

0 km

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa 60 MWOperational

Related Facilities

Microsoft Azure — South Africa North Region (Johannesburg)

60 MW

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa Operational

Stargate AI Supercomputer

5 GW

Lebanon, Global / United States, United States Under Construction

Microsoft Project Fairwater (Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin)

3.3 GW

Mount Pleasant, Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, United States Under Construction

Microsoft — Port Washington AI Campus (Stargate Phase 1)

1.3 GW

Port Washington, Wisconsin, United States Planned

Microsoft — Australia AI Expansion

1 GW

Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Australia Operational

Microsoft Azure Northern Virginia AI Data Centers

1 GW

Ashburn, Northern Virginia (Loudoun, Prince William counties), United States Operational

Intelligence Reports

Structured analysis covering this facility's operator and market context.

OperatorMicrosoft Operator Report$29 — PDF + JSON/CSV CountrySouth Africa Country Report$29 — PDF + JSON/CSV

Frequently asked questions

How big is Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?: Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region has 80 MW of known IT capacity, located in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It ranks #247 globally by capacity among 335 tracked facilities.
What is the status of Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?: Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is currently operational. Known timeline milestones: Earliest market signal 2019.
Who operates Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region?: Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is operated by Microsoft. Structured intelligence reports are available for Microsoft Operator Report and South Africa Country Report.
What energy source does Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region use?: Microsoft Azure — South Africa AI Region is powered by mixed energy and is focused on mixed workloads. This is backed by 2 cited sources.