BARCELONA, Spain, March 3, 2026: As African telecom networks become more complex and data demand continues to surge, operators face mounting pressure to maintain performance while managing costs. Against this backdrop, Cassava Technologies has launched the Cassava Autonomous Network — an AI-powered solution designed to significantly improve mobile network performance across the continent.
Image created via Sora
The company describes it as the first African-ready autonomous network built specifically to self-optimise mobile Radio Access Networks (RAN), addressing the unique infrastructure, scale, and resource challenges of Africa’s connectivity landscape.
Powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, NVIDIA NIM microservices, and NVIDIA Network Configuration Blueprint from NVIDIA, the solution replaces manual network adjustments with policy-driven automation. Instead of engineers manually monitoring and fine-tuning performance, the system continuously analyses and optimises network operations in real time.
Cassava says this approach can increase operational efficiency by up to 75%, while reducing the time needed to resolve minor network issues from approximately four days to around 35 minutes.
The Cassava Autonomous Network runs on CAIMEx, the company’s localised multi-model AI platform, which provides unified access to leading AI models through regional AI infrastructure.
“Cassava Autonomous Network combines NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure with the inclusivity of Africa’s networks’ needs and Cassava’s extensive experience in the telco industry”, said Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology & AI Officer, Cassava Technologies. “With this solution, we are delivering on a significant step toward intelligent, self-healing, autonomous networks that drive coverage, quality, profitability, and improve customer experience across the continent.”
According to the GSMA 2024 report, 4G remains the dominant mobile technology across Africa, while 5G deployment continues to expand at quite a slow rate. Throughout the whole MENA region, 5G connectivity is projected to cover about one-fourth of mobile connectiins only b y 2030. This mix of legacy and next-generation infrastructure creates operational complexity for telecom operators.
Cassava’s solution, optimized for African telecom realities, is designed to function across multi-vendor environments and all major network generations, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, supporting legacy, hybrid, and cloud-native deployments.
By automating routine optimisation tasks and proactively detecting performance issues, the system aims to reduce operational bottlenecks while allowing operators to scale more efficiently.
In addition to performance gains, Cassava highlights flexibility as a key feature of the new platform. The architecture is built to integrate with existing RAN investments rather than replace them, a critical factor in markets where operators often manage infrastructure from multiple vendors.
“In today’s multi-vendor landscape, flexibility is the ultimate currency. Cassava Autonomous Networks provides a truly open architecture that respects existing RAN investments while introducing advanced agentic AI capabilities. Our solution allows telco operators to supercharge their hardware systems,” concluded El Beheiry.
The launch reinforces Cassava’s broader strategy of building AI and digital infrastructure across emerging markets. Headquartered in the UK, with operations across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States, Cassava provides services in 94 countries through its business units, including Cassava AI, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, and Sasai Fintech.
