African Cloud Certified: the first African cloud certification built for African experts

In Abidjan, a consultant tells a bank where its customer data is legally allowed to be hosted. In Lagos, an architect designs a payment platform around the connection users actually have. In Nairobi, an engineer plans how a hospital's records stay accessible through a power cut. In Dakar, a security specialist turns data protection law into technical controls. In Casablanca, a DevOps engineer automates deployments for an industrial group without interrupting its services.

No degree captures everything they can do. Yet they are the ones building Africa's cloud.

Ecofin's report also pointed to the scale of what is coming: according to Statista, the African public cloud market was expected to reach 12.56 billion dollars in 2025 and more than double by 2029.

Recognising these experts is what African Cloud Certified is for. Launched by Hodi, a pan-African cloud provider present in more than 28 territories, the certification is designed for the people already building the continent's cloud.

A certification built on African realities

African Cloud Certified starts from the questions African projects face every week. Where can the data be stored? What does the law say when it leaves the country? How does a service hold up when the power or the connection drops? Which hosting fits a budget paid in local currency? The answers change from Nigeria (NDPA 2023) to Kenya (Data Protection Act 2019), from Morocco (Law 09-08) to South Africa (POPIA), and across Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal.

The certification has seven modules, all online: digital Africa and its cloud, sovereignty and data, hosting, business tools, cybersecurity and continuity, AI, and client challenges. You learn at your own pace and take the final exam when you feel ready, with two attempts. Your score sets your level: Certified from 14/20, Advanced from 16/20, Excellence from 18/20.

What recognition changes

A certification does not replace education or experience. It makes them visible. For companies, it is a clearer way to identify the skills available. For experts, it is a profile the market can read at a glance. For the ecosystem, it means an industry that relies more on its own people.

African cloud is ready, and the experts to make the most of it are here. Our role is to serve them, starting with giving them the recognition they deserve, says Yaram M'Bassidjé, Head of Community for African Cloud Certified.

300 free places for the launch

To mark its launch, African Cloud Certified is offering its first 300 places to the experts building Africa's cloud. Apply before 15 December 2026: if your profile is selected, your training is free. Applying takes just a few clicks: a short form on the website, with a link to your LinkedIn profile. The certification programme starts in January 2027.

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Who can apply

Cloud engineers, architects, DevOps engineers, systems and network administrators, security and data specialists, consultants, in Africa or in the diaspora. Students and recent graduates heading into a cloud career are welcome too. Each application is reviewed on your background, your experience and your interest in the cloud. That is what gives the certification its value.

You are the African cloud

Ecofin's report ended on a risk: a continent that uses the cloud without mastering it. The experts already at work show another path. African cloud is ready. It will be what you make of it. So let's build it together.