Cassava Technologies and AXON Networks have formed a strategic partnership, to develop and deploy Africa’s first end-to-end Operator-as-a-Service platform. This will help drive AI and Digital Transformation on the continent. The announcement took place at Counder Conference 2026, in Cape Town.

With this partnership, Cassava’s pan-African high-speed fibre backbone and AXON’s AI-integrated, real-time, and multi-tenant platform powered by digital twin technology will be combined.

This will help connect millions of individuals and businesses, and help service providers to implement intelligent, scalable, and secure network infrastructures more quickly and efficiently.

“By partnering with AXON Networks, we are moving beyond traditional hardware-centric infrastructure to create a truly programmable, AI-managed network,”

said Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.

“This transformation will significantly reduce operational costs and allow us to provision customer networks in near real time.”

This platform is designed to support mobile network operators, satellite providers, and ISPs by providing a high-performance private data infrastructure with more agility and automation. It sets AI-first connectivity as a priority, paving the way for innovation and growth in Africa’s economy.

“We’re turning an entire infrastructure into a live AI-driven ecosystem,’

said Martin Manniche, CEO and Founder of AXON Networks.

‘This partnership lays the building blocks for an AI economy in Africa and aligns with the vision of owning our AIs.’

Counder Conference leaders described the statement as cooperation with the world’s tech leaders of to emerging markets.Further details on the deployment are awaited.