MTN expands AI data-centre push

by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – MTN Group is partnering with a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based data-centre investment platform to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence-ready digital infrastructure across Africa, initially targeting South Africa and Nigeria.

The partnership, announced by MTN on Thursday, brings together the telecommunications group’s extensive African infrastructure footprint with specialist investment, development and operating expertise in the data-centre sector.

The partners will pursue the initiative through Africa Data Hub Holding Limited, a platform intended to develop and scale digital infrastructure opportunities across key African markets.

MTN said the venture would help meet rising demand for cloud computing, enterprise technology, digital services and AI workloads as businesses across the continent accelerate their adoption of advanced technologies.

Bayobab, MTN’s digital connectivity business and a shareholder in the partnership, will provide open-access connectivity and go-to-market support through its pan-African network.

Mazen Mroué, CEO of MTN Group Digital Infrastructure, said Africa’s digital economy was entering a new era driven by artificial intelligence, cloud adoption and digital innovation.

“Realising this opportunity requires more than connectivity. It requires the infrastructure platforms that will power the next generation of digital services, businesses and innovation,” he said.

UAE-based investor Tarek Al Ashram, who founded the investment platform, said Africa presented a compelling opportunity given its expanding digital economies and growing demand for resilient and scalable infrastructure.

The partnership forms part of MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy and is designed to strengthen the infrastructure underpinning Africa’s digital transformation.

MTN said the platform would support hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprises and technology companies requiring locally hosted, high-performance digital infrastructure.

The initiative comes as demand for data centres rises across Africa, driven by cloud adoption, artificial intelligence and increasing data consumption.

MTN said combining its market knowledge and infrastructure assets with specialist data-centre expertise would create a platform capable of scaling digital infrastructure investment across the continent.

– CAJ News