Zimbabwe’s Econet InfraCo Cuts Diesel Costs by 30% with AI Fuel Management
The company reported a 30% reduction in its diesel costs after deploying an AI platform that it developed in collaboration with sister company Cassava Compute.
Econet InfraCo, the tower infrastructure subsidiary of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, has becaome the first company in Africa to deploy an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to manage fuel efficiency.
The company reported a 30% reduction in its diesel costs after deploying an AI platform that it developed in collaboration with sister company Cassava Compute.
In his statement accompanying the company’s recent half-year results, Econet InfraCo Chairman Godfrey Gomwe highlighted the savings delivered by the AI Fuel Mode solution.
“By using AI to analyse how and when each diesel generator is deployed, we have developed a fuel management system that has reduced our diesel costs by 30%. This demonstrates the practical value of AI in improving operational efficiency and managing one of our largest expenses.”
– Godfrey Gomwe, Chairman, Econet InfraCo
The savings come as conflict in the Middle East puts upward pressure on diesel prices, increasing costs for businesses that rely on generators to maintain uninterrupted operations.
According to the company, AI Fuel Mode is the first solution of its kind deployed by a tower operator globally. It was developed with Cassava Compute using its NVIDIA-powered AI computing infrastructure in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mobile operators across Africa rely heavily on diesel generators because of unreliable grid electricity. The company estimates that more than 500 000 generators support mobile network operations across the continent, making diesel a major operating expense for tower infrastructure businesses.
Econet InfraCo and Cassava Compute analysed generator deployment patterns and developed an AI fuel management matrix to optimise their use and reduce diesel expenditure.
Cassava AI plans to make the platform available to other operators, with potential applications in industries such as mining and manufacturing.
The initiative comes as Cassava AI, working with NVIDIA, begins deploying a related AI Energy Mode platform to help Econet Wireless optimise electricity usage across its mobile network.
Both platforms are expected to increase demand for GPU computing capacity at Cassava’s AI factory.
