MTN eyes EU, US partners to boost AI data centres across Africa

Key topics:MTN in talks with US, EU firms to build AI data centers in AfricaFirst $240m AI data center underway in NigeriaAfrica holds under 1% of global AI data capacity.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Loni Prinsloo.Africa’s largest wireless carrier MTN Group Ltd is in talks with US and European firms to build out data centers on the continent to power artificial intelligence services, said Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita in an interview. The Johannesburg-based group will directly fund part of the investment needed to expand the AI data center build-out on the continent, and is in discussions with potential global partners, said Mupita. The plan is to build out facilities and sign up tenants to supply AI compute, then rent out capacity to other businesses and governments across the continent. The group is also considering kitting out data centers with its own hardware. MTN has started building its first data center in Nigeria at an estimated cost of $240 million. “We are now in the commercial negotiation phase and shortlisting partners who can help us scale,” said Mupita. “Our goal is to conclude these partnerships within the year.”.Read more:.MTN posts first loss since 2016 due to Naira devaluation.Mupita declined to give names or financial details of the discussions, but potential partners include co-investors, companies specializing in AI infrastructure, and hyperscalers — large-scale computing providers such as Microsoft.While Africa has the fastest-growing and youngest population in the world, it has fallen behind in the global rush to build out local AI compute. It houses less than 1% of AI data centre capacity, marking a significant infrastructure gap in the rapidly growing field. South Africa, the continent’s most powerful economy, currently hosts most of the computing power on the continent, with hyperscalers including Microsoft, Alibaba, and Amazon offering cloud services. There’s now a push to boost capacity in other African countries. Microsoft and G42 announced a geothermal-powered data centre in Kenya, while Indian telecommunications billionaire Sunil Mittal is planning additional AI capacity in Nigeria through Africa Airtel and Nxtra. Telecommunications companies globally are investing in data centres to help meet growing consumer and enterprise demand for AI, and to grab share of a new revenue stream from the hyperscalers. MTN said its AI data centre business unit, called Genova, will form part of the group’s overall strategy to monetise infrastructure, open up its platforms to third parties, and grow new revenue streams. Potential partners of the business would follow MTN, which operates across 16 markets in Africa, into markets where demand for AI is surging and the group has a presence, said Mupita. The group is also investigating all its options to ensure that it is able to secure reliable and efficient power for the AI data centres in its markets where electricity infrastructure is often limited. .© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

MTN eyes EU, US partners to boost AI data centres across Africa

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