OADC Unveils OAfabric to Tackle Africa’s Digital Barriers

By Diafa Doubra,

Africa’s push towards digital transformation received a major boost on Tuesday as Open Access Data Centres (OADC) launched OAfabric, a new open-access interconnection platform designed to bridge the continent’s long-standing digital divide.

The platform, unveiled in Lagos, Nigeria and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), aims to resolve structural challenges that have hindered Africa’s digital economy for years, including high internet transit costs, latency issues, and regulatory bottlenecks.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO of OADC, said OAfabric was built to solve real connectivity problems faced by African businesses. “We designed this to reduce the cost of computing, improve performance, and give enterprises and service providers reliable access to cloud, content, and digital services,” he explained.

With OAfabric, businesses across Africa will now be able to connect directly to cloud providers, content networks, and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) through a secure, carrier-neutral platform. According to OADC officials, the system is expected to cut latency by at least 50 percent compared to traditional internet routing, giving countries like Nigeria faster connections to global hubs such as London and Amsterdam.

Industry experts believe this innovation will not only improve Africa’s internet infrastructure but also accelerate the growth of fintech, education, health, and artificial intelligence-driven industries, which rely heavily on low-latency digital services.

OADC has also revealed plans to extend OAfabric across other African markets in the coming months, creating what it calls a “digital backbone” for the continent’s economic future.