As artificial intelligence, cloud computing and advanced data analytics become more common across Africa, control over where data is stored and how it is processed is emerging as an increasingly important technology issue for organisations on the continent.
For banks, telecommunications companies, government agencies and other institutions handling sensitive information, the question is no longer simply how quickly data can be processed. Increasingly, organisations also have to consider where their data resides, who has access to it and which laws govern its use.
That growing concern is behind a new partnership between Nigerian technology company Agodi Technologies and United States-based Synx Data Labs, the developer of the SynxDB cloud-native data warehouse.
Agodi Technologies has been named Synx Data Labs’ preferred Pan-African partner, with the partnership expected to support organisations across African markets in deploying data infrastructure while maintaining greater control over their information.
The growing adoption of data-intensive technologies is making data governance more complicated for African organisations.
Artificial intelligence systems, financial analytics platforms, digital identity services, healthcare technologies and telecommunications networks all depend on the ability to collect and process large volumes of data.
But when such information is stored or processed across borders, organisations can face regulatory requirements relating to data storage, transfer and access.
Agodi Technologies’ Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Oluwami Oladeji, said this is making data sovereignty an increasingly important consideration for institutions adopting modern technologies.
“Data sovereignty is no longer optional for African institutions; in a growing number of markets, it is the law,” Oladeji said.
He added that organisations are looking for infrastructure that can support AI and advanced analytics without forcing them to surrender control over the data powering those systems.
“SynxDB lets a bank or a government run world-class analytics and AI on their own data, in their own country,” he said.
A major feature of SynxDB highlighted by the companies is its bring your own cloud architecture.
The model allows organisations to deploy the data warehouse within their existing cloud environments rather than necessarily moving their information into an infrastructure controlled by another provider.
As a result, customer data can remain within the organisation’s own cloud account and, where regulations require it, within the relevant national jurisdiction.
This could be particularly important for institutions operating in multiple African countries, where data protection and cross-border data transfer requirements may differ from one jurisdiction to another.
Data sovereignty, therefore, goes beyond simply knowing the physical location of a server.
Agodi said it also involves determining who ultimately controls critical information, who can access it, the legal framework under which it is processed and where the data can be stored.
SynxDB is built on the open-source Apache Cloudberry project and is compatible with PostgreSQL. That compatibility could make the technology easier for organisations already familiar with PostgreSQL-based systems to consider as they upgrade their data infrastructure.
For businesses dealing with increasingly large and complex datasets, modernising their data environment has become closely connected to their ability to deploy analytics and artificial intelligence effectively.
The partnership is expected to explore how SynxDB can fit into those environments across different African markets.
Agodi Technologies will work alongside Synx Data Labs’ engineering teams on proofs of concept, customer engagements and migration projects. It will also evaluate possible deployments among organisations managing substantial and complex databases.
Oladeji said the partnership should not be viewed simply as the arrival of another data warehouse technology in the African market.
Instead, he said the broader issue is how institutions can retain greater control over their data while still gaining access to modern analytical capabilities.
“The opportunity is not just about introducing another data warehouse to the African market. It is about giving institutions greater control over how their data is stored, analysed and used,” he said.
Agodi Technologies currently operates more than 20 digital products covering areas including education, healthcare, legal services, digital identity, fintech and entertainment. Through its new role as Synx Data Labs’ Pan-African partner, the company said it will support organisations across the continent while coordinating with Synx’s technical teams on specialised deployments.
For years, decisions around data infrastructure have largely revolved around factors such as performance, scalability and cost. The increasing use of AI and cloud technologies, however, is adding another layer to that decision-making process.
African organisations now have to consider not only whether their infrastructure can handle growing volumes of data, but also questions around ownership, jurisdiction, security and long-term flexibility.
Oladeji said institutions should therefore be looking at data infrastructure through a broader lens as adoption of advanced technologies accelerates across the continent. “Bringing that capability to Africa, as Synx’s Pan-African partner, is exactly the kind of infrastructure conversation institutions need to be having now,” he said.
The development reflects a wider shift in the technology conversation across Africa: as organisations become increasingly dependent on data to power digital services and artificial intelligence, control over that data is becoming almost as important as the technology used to analyse it.
