African telecom giant MTN is looking for US and European partners to develop AI data centers

Leading mobile operator in Africa, MTN Group, is in advanced talks with American and European technology firms over plans to roll out a new generation of data centres across the continent.

The facilities are designed to underpin artificial intelligence applications, a field in which Africa is currently lagging, although demand for AI services is fast growing.

Nigeria has taken the lead in the MTN initiative

The group’s chief executive, Ralph Mupita, said that MTN will directly commit capital towards data centre construction, but pointed out the need for global partners to help fund and scale what could become a continent-wide network.

“We are now in the commercial negotiation phase and shortlisting partners who can help us scale,” Mupita told Bloomberg, adding that the company aims to conclude these partnerships within the year.

Nigeria is the first port of call, where MTN plans to invest around $240 million to construct its first AI-focused data centre, with the facility tipped to supply computing power to governments and businesses. According to MTN, excess capacity will be rented out to other organisations in need, and the group has even hinted at its own hardware fittings, although negotiations are still ongoing.

While Mupita declined to give names or financial details of the discussions, potential partners include co-investors, companies specialising in AI infrastructure, and hyperscalers, large-scale computing providers such as Microsoft, according to the report.

Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, yet the continent possesses less than 1% of global AI data centre capacity. Most of what little exists is concentrated in South Africa, where Microsoft, Amazon, and Alibaba already offer cloud services.

This infrastructure gap could leave African firms and governments reliant on external markets for AI needs as a result. At the same time, it also presents an investment opportunity that some African nations are beginning to explore. In Kenya, Microsoft and Abu Dhabi’s G42 are building a geothermal-powered facility, while Sunil Mittal’s Airtel Africa is working with Nxtra to expand Nigeria’s capacity.

“The opportunity is clear, Africa cannot afford to be left behind in the AI revolution,” said one regional telecoms consultant. “Whoever establishes the backbone infrastructure now will dominate the digital economy in the years ahead.”

MTN will establish a new business unit to spearhead infrastructure monetization

The telecoms company is not alone in trying to lure heavy data users, as other companies from Asia and Europe are also investing heavily in the data centre infrastructure. The hope is to secure deals with the hyperscalers while also meeting mounting demand from local consumers and businesses.

For this project, MTN will set up a new business unit called Genova, which will spearhead infrastructure monetisation. “With Genova, we are looking not only at monetising what we have but also at building for the future,” explained Mupita.

“This is about creating an ecosystem in which African businesses can thrive in the age of AI.”

Mupita.

The project will not be immune to challenges, for instance, access to dependable electricity for such energy-intensive facilities. “We are exploring every option to ensure our data centres have sustainable, efficient power,” he said, adding that renewable energy is one of the solutions to guarantee an uninterrupted energy supply.

“AI compute is not just about flashy apps or robots,” said one Nairobi-based technology strategist. “It’s about crunching agricultural data, improving disease modelling, or making financial inclusion scalable. Local capacity matters.”

The chief executive feels the logic is straightforward and Africa can either build its own digital backbone now or remain perpetually dependent on centres overseas.

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