Let's do 5 Whys with this? Basically, that means the industry can't reliably truck or otherwise ship refrigerated produce to the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam. Why? I'm going to guess that the road infrastructure is too poor to support refrigerated trucks. Why?
Overall, the rule of law, regulatory environment and open market of Uganda and its neighbors are not at the level needed to to maximize its potential. This, coupled with the cost of borrowing (think interest rate), asset risk (E.g, forfeiture, robbery, piracy) and a few key negative economic indicators (Major balance of trade, current account & gov budget deficit) can put a dent in a country's mid-long term success.
- road network unreliable - theft of property along road - electricity unreliable - workers may or may not show up - bribes for transport, bribes for regulatory checks - unreliable access to credit - unreliable access to mechanics for truck, equipment - unreliable commercial and regulatory structures - unstable political climate - unreliable export/import laws - unreliable transport partners - unreliable internet - unreliable water source - excessive weather risk - unpredictable demand - unreliable payments from customers - payments delayed by snafus in credit/financial system - lack of appropriate insurance products
etc. etc. etc.
'Lack of data centres' in Africa is more likely a symptom, not a cause of anything.
Having access to high quality, well run data centres is actually a positive thing for Africa, since that is just a little higher up on the value chain than maybe some places can handle.
Once other things are in place, Africa can make all the data centres they need, but I'd argue that this is just an optimization. I don't see a hugely material issue with not having data locally.