Cassava Technologies Partners with SAAIA to Expand AI Access and Innovation Across Africa
Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology company, has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South African Artificial Intelligence Association (SAAIA) to accelerate the growth of Africa’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem through improved access to compute power and collaborative innovation.
Under the new partnership, Cassava will provide SAAIA’s network of over 3,000 AI practitioners—including entrepreneurs, researchers, and business leaders—with access to its advanced data centre GPU infrastructure through a GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) model. This will enable local stakeholders to develop, test, and deploy scalable AI solutions tailored to African contexts.
The agreement also outlines plans for joint initiatives aimed at supporting regional AI capacity building and fostering responsible AI development on the continent.
“We are proud to partner with SAAIA to support the growth of Africa’s AI ecosystem,” said Ziaad Suleman, CEO of Cassava Technologies South Africa and Botswana. “By extending our advanced AI infrastructure and capabilities to SAAIA’s growing community, we’re enabling greater access to the compute power needed to build and scale local innovations.”
SAAIA, South Africa’s leading AI ecosystem builder, focuses on uniting AI practitioners across commercial, government, academic, NGO, and startup sectors. The association also hosts AI Expo Africa, the continent’s largest AI-focused event, and advocates for ethical, inclusive, and responsible AI development.
“SAAIA is pleased to be partnering with Cassava Technologies in strengthening AI in South Africa. Supporting local AI entrepreneurs is a key pillar of SAAIA, and access to GPU-as-a-Service is a key enabler to growing the emerging AI startup ecosystem,” said Dr. Nick Bradshaw, Founder and Chairman of SAAIA.
This partnership follows Cassava’s recent announcement of plans to establish Africa’s first AI factory, which aims to provide local businesses, governments, and researchers with world-class AI computing capabilities. The initiative aligns with Cassava’s mission to empower Africans to thrive in the digital economy and its broader vision of being the continent’s premier provider of digital solutions.
