Douala: US firm Cybastion plans $75 Million AI data center and power plant ⁰

US company Cybastion plans to invest $75 million, about CFA42.25 billion, in a data center in Douala designed in part for artificial intelligence applications and supported by dedicated power generation capacity.

The project was among the investment proposals presented at the first Cameroon-US Economic and Commercial Dialogue, held in Yaoundé on August 27, 2026. Cybastion describes the planned facility as a “sovereign data center” that would provide computing capacity, storage and other digital services locally. Several critical specifications, however, remain undisclosed. The company has provided no details on the data center’s computing capacity, the size of the planned power plant or the technology that would generate its electricity.

The construction schedule, exact location in Douala and financing structure for the $75 million investment have also not been disclosed. At this stage, the project therefore remains an investment proposal rather than a fully secured financing commitment.

Dedicated Power Generation Capacity

The inclusion of dedicated power generation is one of the project’s distinguishing features. Data centers require a continuous and stable electricity supply for servers, cooling systems and other equipment, while infrastructure designed to support AI applications can require even greater amounts of power.

The issue reflects concerns already identified in Cameroon. A study by the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies Development (CENADI) on the competitiveness and viability of data centers examined their business models and operating constraints.

Cybastion would not, however, enter a market without existing infrastructure. CAMTEL already operates a Tier III-certified data center in Zamengoé, near Yaoundé. In Douala, ST Digital also operates a private data center equipped with infrastructure dedicated to artificial intelligence. Posts and Telecommunications Minister Minette Libom Li Likeng visited the facility in July 2025.

Cybastion’s project would therefore need to distinguish itself through factors such as capacity, customers, hosting costs and available power. Those details have yet to be disclosed.

A $66 Million Precedent in Côte d’Ivoire

Cybastion already has a comparable project in West Africa. In August 2025, the Export-Import Bank of the United States approved a $66.14 million guarantee to support construction of Côte d’Ivoire’s national data center.

Under that financing structure, Côte d’Ivoire’s Finance Ministry is the borrower, Cybastion Institute of Technology is the exporter and Citibank is the lender covered by the US guarantee. In May 2026, EXIM named the transaction its “Industries of the Future Deal of the Year.”

No comparable financing arrangement has yet been announced for Cameroon. Cybastion’s proposed $75 million investment forms part of roughly $7 billion, or nearly CFA4 trillion, in US commercial and investment opportunities identified during the Yaoundé dialogue.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), however, says the projects are at different stages of development and describes the announced amounts as investment intentions that still need to translate into concrete projects.

For Cybastion’s project, the next key developments will therefore include the identity of its financiers, the capacity of the data center and power plant, the choice of site, the construction timetable and any commitments made by the Cameroonian government.

Source: Business in Cameroon