The Mascom Innovation Centre was initially developed to support Mascom’s own growing technology and operational requirements. That origin is important. Telecommunications companies are among the most demanding users of digital infrastructure because their networks must operate continuously, support high volumes of data and serve both retail and enterprise customers. KEABETSWE NEWEL speaks with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dzene Makhwade-Seboni. (Blurb)
Makhwade-Seboni notes that during planning and implementation, Mascom identified a broader market opportunity: Botswana needed secure, resilient, locally hosted digital infrastructure. She says the decision to open the facility to external customers transformed the investment from an internal operational platform into a national ICT asset.
This dual-purpose model is strategically astute. Internally, Mascom strengthens its own operational resilience. Externally, it creates a new enterprise services market. The facility generates direct revenue through colocation, cloud services, Infrastructure as a Service, disaster recovery, connectivity and managed services. But its indirect return may be just as important: increased utilisation of Mascom’s fibre and transmission networks, stronger enterprise relationships, reduced customer churn, growth in digital service consumption and new value-added ICT revenue streams.
The data centre therefore functions as a multiplier across Mascom’s business model. It is not an isolated asset. It is part of a broader digital ecosystem.
Alignment with Botswana’s Digital Transformation Agenda
Botswana’s economic future depends on diversification. For decades, the national economy has relied heavily on diamonds, public expenditure and traditional sectors. Makhwade-Seboni says the digital economy offers a different growth pathway: one built on data, platforms, services, connectivity, innovation and high-value infrastructure.
But digital transformation cannot be declared into existence. Makhwade-Seboni says it must be built. She says it requires policy, skills, investment, regulation, infrastructure, private-sector participation and institutional confidence. A Tier III-certified data centre contributes to this foundation because it gives local firms and public institutions access to infrastructure that meets international standards.
“It also supports data sovereignty and local hosting. As businesses increasingly adopt cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, analytics and digital services, the question of where data is hosted becomes more important. Local infrastructure allows organisations to reduce dependence on overseas hosting environments while improving compliance, control and response times,” she notes.
For sectors such as finance, insurance, telecommunications, public administration and healthcare, Makhwade-Seboni says this is particularly relevant. Sensitive data requires strong controls. Critical systems require continuity. Digital services require performance. The Mascom facility responds to each of these requirements.
Botswana as a Regional Digital Hub
Beyond the domestic market, Mascom’s data centre has implications for Botswana’s regional positioning. Botswana sits at the centre of Southern Africa, sharing borders with several SADC countries and functioning as a natural transit point for regional connectivity. The country also benefits from political stability, a relatively strong regulatory environment and a reputation for institutional order.
Mascom believes that these attributes matter in the digital infrastructure market.
“Regional companies choosing where to host systems consider not only cost, but also security, stability, regulation, connectivity, power resilience and institutional trust. A certified Tier III facility strengthens Botswana’s case as a hosting destination for SADC workloads,” she says.
Mascom’s fibre connectivity into neighbouring countries further reinforces this opportunity. With direct links into South Africa and Zimbabwe, and a national network connecting key towns, the facility can support regional hosting, disaster recovery deployments, cloud services and multinational ICT requirements, according to the CEO.
She adds that this is especially important because internationally certified Tier III infrastructure remains limited in parts of the region. Botswana therefore, has an opportunity to position itself not only as a consumer of regional connectivity but as a secure digital infrastructure node.
The ambition is not unrealistic. Smaller, stable jurisdictions can become trusted infrastructure locations if they combine regulatory credibility, connectivity, reliable facilities and investor confidence. In financial services, logistics and data infrastructure, stability is a competitive asset.
The National Asset Behind Every Day Digital Life
“The most important technologies often become invisible when they work well. A mobile money transaction goes through. A banking app loads. A government portal responds. A business retrieves backed-up data. A retailer processes payments. An SME accesses cloud storage. A company survives a local outage because its systems are protected elsewhere,” she states.
Behind these seemingly ordinary events sits infrastructure. The Mascom Tier III Data Centre is part of that infrastructure.
Makhwade-Seboni says its significance lies in the convergence of several capabilities: international certification, concurrent maintainability, redundant power and cooling, physical security, fire suppression, fibre connectivity, disaster recovery, cloud hosting, managed services and scalability. Together, she adds that these capabilities form a platform that allows Botswana’s public and private sectors to modernise with greater confidence.
This matters because the next phase of economic competitiveness will be shaped by the countries that can secure and process data, maintain digital continuity, support innovation and provide businesses with reliable technology foundations. Roads and electricity will remain essential, but so too will data centres, cloud platforms, fibre routes, cybersecurity systems and disaster recovery environments.
Mascom’s investment therefore speaks to a larger national question: what kind of infrastructure does Botswana need to compete in the digital century?
The answer is increasingly clear. Botswana needs infrastructure that is resilient, certified, secure, locally available, regionally connected and commercially accessible. Makhwade-Seboni says it needs systems that allow banks, SMEs, public institutions, startups and consumers to participate in a digital economy without depending entirely on distant infrastructure. It needs platforms that can support artificial intelligence, cloud adoption, digital payments, online services, data-driven operations and business continuity.
The Mascom Innovation Centre Tier III Data Centre is one such platform, according to the CEO.
Building the Foundations of a Digital Economy
The story of Mascom’s Tier III Data Centre is not simply a story about servers, racks, generators and fibre. It is a story about Botswana’s digital readiness. It is about whether the country can provide the infrastructure required for modern commerce, resilient public services, secure data management and regional competitiveness.
By investing in a certified, resilient and locally hosted data centre, Makhwade-Seboni says Mascom has created an infrastructure asset that serves multiple constituencies. For large enterprises and banks, she reveals that it offers continuity, compliance and reduced capital burden. For the government, she says, it offers secure hosting and disaster recovery capability. For SMEs, she also notes that it lowers the cost of accessing enterprise-grade technology, while for consumers, it improves the reliability of everyday digital services.
“For Botswana, it strengthens the country’s claim to becoming a regional digital hub,” she continues.
The facility’s greatest value may ultimately lie in its enabling role. Mascom says it allows other ambitions to become more achievable: cloud adoption, digital banking, mobile money reliability, SME digitalisation, public-sector modernisation, artificial intelligence readiness, data sovereignty and regional ICT investment.
Every economy that wants to compete in the future must decide whether it will merely consume digital services built elsewhere, or whether it will build the infrastructure to host, protect and scale its own digital future.
Through the Mascom Innovation Centre Tier III Data Centre, Botswana has taken an important step toward the second path.
