South Africa: AI boom drives investment surge in South Africa's power, digital systems.

Shotlist South Africa - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Aerial shots of cityscape, data center 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Angus Hay, regional executive, Africa Data Centers (starting with shot 1): "Africa is still a growing market for AI and for cloud computing and for data centers generally. We have a very small proportion of data centers compared to our population globally, and therefore it's a massive growing market in Africa to contribute to the development of Africa." 3. Servers 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Arthur Goldstuck, founder, World Wide Worx (starting with shot 3/ending with shot 5): "The likes of Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud, Huawei Cloud as well -- all of these are investing not only in the data centers, but also in the power supply for those data centers because data centers really depend on consistent, reliable energy." 5. Various of solar panels, wind turbines 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Angus Hay, regional executive, Africa Data Centers: "The technologies that we use in data centers, and this is more or less universal across data center providers across the African continent on low water usage technologies. So we use cooling technologies that do not, for example, evaporate water. We use cooling technologies that contain water in closed loop systems." 7. Various of servers 8. SOUNDBITE (English) James Mckay, CEO, Energy Council of South Africa (staring with shot 7/ending with shot 9): "We've engaged quite a lot with the data centers, all of the big international sort of AI and hyperscalers all have a presence in South Africa, seen as a strategic destination." 9. Various of servers Storyline South Africa is drawing global attention as a rising hub for artificial intelligence (AI) investment, with experts highlighting the country's strong digital infrastructure and abundant resources as catalysts for growth. The rapid expansion of AI and cloud computing is driving unprecedented demand for electricity, placing Africa's energy systems at the center of global investment strategies. Industry executives say the continent's untapped digital capacity is positioning Africa as a prime growth frontier for AI and cloud computing. "Africa is still a growing market for AI and for cloud computing and for data centers generally. We have a very small proportion of data centers compared to our population globally, and therefore it's a massive growing market in Africa to contribute to the development of Africa," said Angus Hay, regional executive of Africa Data Centers. This potential has already drawn billions from global tech giants into renewable energy and smart technologies, aimed at securing reliable power for the next wave of AI growth. "The likes of Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud, Huawei Cloud as well -- all of these are investing not only in the data centers, but also in the power supply for those data centers because data centers really depend on consistent, reliable energy," said Arthur Goldstuck, founder of World Wide Worx, a technology research organization in South Africa. "The technologies that we use in data centers, and this is more or less universal across data center providers across the African continent on low water usage technologies. So we use cooling technologies that do not, for example, evaporate water. We use cooling technologies that contain water in closed loop systems," said Hay. As AI transforms economies worldwide, investors are increasingly turning their attention to the continent as one of the last major growth frontiers for energy, infrastructure and digital development. "We've engaged quite a lot with the data centers, all of the big international sort of AI and hyperscalers all have a presence in South Africa, seen as a strategic destination," said James Mckay, CEO of the Energy Council of South Africa.