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Cloud Adoption in Africa C loud usage in the financial services industry is on the rise, with 91 percent of financial institutions actively using cloud services or planning to use them soon (as of 2020). This is double the number since the same survey was conducted in 2016. 87 percent of global IT decision-makers report that COVID-19 is the accelerator for their cloud migration strategy For banks, cloud computing has five major benefits: 1. Scalability and flexibility 2. Cost optimization 3. Increased process efficiency 4. Agility and innovation 5. Enhanced data security The adoption of cloud-based banking in Africa, however, lags behind other parts of the world due to infrastructure reliability, cloud point of presence (POP) and regulatory regimes, all of which can vary significantly between different parts of the continent. Despite this, Africa has a large, young, tech-savvy population and is primed for the growth of cloud services. Major structural investments in the infrastructure are on the rise, and plenty of actors aim to be part of the growth. Combine these factors with the development of ever-more affordable smartphones, and it's clear that a digital boom is on the horizon. Cloud technology is central to this boom as it can help African banks achieve economies of scale, resulting in cost savings, improved efficiency and a greater ability to extend access to financial services. Yet, it's clear that Africa needs more data center capacity than is currently available. While the effort to build the infrastructure is well underway, it's worth surveying the landscape to understand where we are and where we're going. 87%

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