Data Centers in Harare

Harare – High Performance Infrastructure in Southern Africa

Executive Summary

Harare serves as the primary digital gateway for Zimbabwe, offering a central point for organizations looking to localize data and reduce latency across the Southern African Development Community. It is a vital market for service providers requiring resilient infrastructure to support a rapidly digitizing economy and high-stakes financial operations.

Harare: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

As the heart of Zimbabwe telecommunications sector, Harare provides a concentrated environment for carrier interconnection and regional traffic exchange.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 10 – as of December 2025. The market features a mix of state-owned and private fiber providers, offering resilient backhaul to undersea cables in South Africa and Mozambique.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: Over 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of December 2025. Organizations typically reach AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), or Microsoft Azure via private network interconnects or dedicated waves to Johannesburg, the nearest major cloud hub.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Zimbabwe Internet Exchange (ZIXP) is the primary hub in Harare, facilitating local traffic exchange to reduce costs and improve local latency for domestic users.

Bare Metal: Sturdy bare metal options are available through regional specialists like Latitude.sh, allowing for high-performance compute without the overhead of full rack management as of December 2025.

Power Analysis

Energy security and cost management are central to operational success in the Zimbabwean market.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is estimated at $0.12/kWh as of December 2025. This rate reflects a diverse energy mix where renewables, primarily hydropower, account for 55% of generation, helping companies manage their carbon footprint.

Power Grid Reliability: Major data center corridors in Harare utilize well-engineered connections to the national grid. Facilities often employ multi-substation support and site-specific generation to ensure consistent uptime during periods of grid instability as of December 2025.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Harare is the economic engine of Zimbabwe, providing a stable base for regional business expansion.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are strategically located near the Central Business District and the Samora Machel Avenue corridor. This proximity is vital for the financial services and mining sectors, which require low-latency access to their core infrastructure.

Regional Market Reach: A presence in Harare allows businesses to serve a domestic population of over 15 million people and provides a logical jumping-off point for services into neighboring landlocked markets.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Zimbabwe offers specific financial benefits to the sector, most notably the extension of sales tax exemption certificates for data center equipment. This incentive significantly lowers the initial capital expenditure for firms establishing a footprint in the region as of December 2025.

Natural Disaster Risk

Harare maintains a Moderate risk profile with an overall score of 5.0/10 as of December 2025. The environment is generally stable for infrastructure, with the most significant hazards being regional or climatic rather than geological.

• Drought (9.7): High risk; affects regional hydropower generation and water cooling availability as of December 2025.
• Epidemic (5.1): Moderate risk; requires contingency planning for onsite staffing and logistics as of December 2025.
• River Flood (3.6): Low to Moderate risk; primarily affects specific low-lying drainage basins as of December 2025.
• Earthquake (1.8): Low risk; the region is seismically quiet with minimal threat to structural integrity as of December 2025.

Other natural hazards, such as tropical cyclones and coastal flooding, are minor or not applicable due to Harare inland location and elevation.