As Africa’s manufacturing sector accelerates its journey into the era of Industry 4.0, the benefits are becoming increasingly clear – including reduced risk, leaner supply chains and lower operational costs, to name a few.
Manufacturers across the continent are beginning to embrace digitalisation, automation and data intelligence. With the right critical digital infrastructure, they are poised to thrive in an increasingly dynamic market, and this is something that Vertiv is seeing firsthand.
Across every sector, organisations face growing pressure to modernise and optimise operations to stay competitive, and manufacturing is no exception. Globally, the sector is advancing its digital maturity at a pace.
According to the global professional services and advisory organisation, KPMG, 76% of manufacturers are ready to adopt new technologies, the highest proportion across eight different sectors surveyed by the organisation – including financial services, technology, retail, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and more.
Are your manufacturing systems future-ready?
To make the most of this shift, manufacturers must evolve their data centre infrastructure to support more data-intensive workloads. This is especially true due to the explosion of data from sensors, machines and supply chains, which amplifies the requirement for scalable, secure storage and real-time data processing.
The Manufacturing Leadership Council – an international business leadership network – notes that digital transformation has been a game changer for manufacturing, with 60% of respondents in its ‘Smart Factories and Digital Production’ survey stating that they see digital transformation as something that is redefining the industry.
The report advises that some 75% of manufacturers say they are at ‘midlevel’ digital maturity, up significantly from 2024 and 2023, with 89% of those surveyed adding that they expect smart factory and production technology investments to either increase or remain unchanged for 2025.
However, despite this optimistic outlook, manufacturers continue to grapple with a number of roadblocks in their digitalisation journeys. Nearly half (49%) of those interviewed by the Manufacturing Leadership Council said that outdated legacy equipment was their biggest challenge, up from 39% in 2024. Workforce-related barriers were also cited as a growing issue, as was resistance to change.
Aligning technology and production environments
The convergence of OT and IT is reshaping the manufacturing floor. Infrastructure that supports technologies like machine learning, robotic process automation (RPA) and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors enables real-time insights, greater precision and more efficient production.
However, this transformation comes with increased demands for compute power and system reliability. Downtime is the enemy of productivity; especially in Africa, where power-related failures are a persistent threat in both urban and rural manufacturing hubs.
Unplanned outages can lead to costly delays, lost revenue and reputational damage – yet many of these incidents are preventable with the right strategies in place. Regular equipment maintenance and resilient infrastructure solutions such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) can mitigate common causes of failure, including surges and electrical spikes.
Building smarter, leaner supply chains
Today’s manufacturers must be agile as well as efficient. Whether responding to sudden market shifts or managing inventory in real time, supply chain visibility is essential. Beyond pricing and stock availability, manufacturers are simplifying operations to reduce waste and improve responsiveness.
Digitalisation is key. Tools such as Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), advanced business intelligence and logistics platforms are helping manufacturers streamline procurement, optimise networks and build smarter, data-driven supply chains.
Looking ahead: Digitalisation as a driver of transformation
Digitalisation is helping to reshape manufacturing by automating repetitive tasks, simplifying complex processes and improving visibility across operations. This shift not only boosts efficiency but can also make manufacturing a more attractive career path.
Digital transformation is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s an operational imperative. Success depends on investing in the infrastructure that supports it. For manufacturers across Africa, the opportunity to lead the next wave of industrial innovation is here.
A strategic partner for Africa’s manufacturing growth
Africa’s manufacturing potential is immense. However, infrastructure reliability is central to gaining value from it, and Vertiv is committed to supporting this growth with proven technologies, global expertise and local presence.
The organisation’s portfolio includes pre-configured, rapidly deployable solutions like Vertiv SmartCabinet™ and Vertiv SmartAisle™ , pre-engineered edge data centre solution designed to minimise time spent on planning, design, and site preparation; reduce deployment costs; and maximise energy efficiency. For core systems, Vertiv offers integrated power and cooling infrastructure, including Vertiv™ Liebert® EXM2™ UPS units, which deliver stable, efficient power in challenging conditions.
In addition, the organisation’s VertivTM Liebert® Hipulse-U industrial UPS is an important infrastructure element for the local manufacturing sector. Now on display at Vertiv’s Customer Experience Centre in Nairobi, the Liebert® Hipulse-U offers a reliable, scalable and user-friendly solution to enable availability of various critical applications.
By Wojtek Piorko, managing director, Africa at Vertiv