MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom operator, is partnering with Dubai-based investor Tarek Al Ashram to develop a 150-megawatt AI-ready data centre network across Africa, in a move that could position the telecom giant deeper into the continent’s fast-growing artificial intelligence infrastructure market.
The partnership brings together MTN’s pan-African telecom and fibre infrastructure with Al Ashram’s experience in building large-scale data centres in the Middle East.
Al Ashram, co-founder of Gulf Data Hub, which is backed by KKR & Co., will use his investment firm to back the newly formed Africa Data Hub Holding venture, according to a report by Bloomberg published Thursday.
The funding commitment has not been disclosed. However, industry estimates put the potential cost of building 150MW of AI data centre capacity at between $3 billion and $6 billion, depending on the technology, power infrastructure, location and scale of deployment.
The project therefore represents one of MTN’s biggest bets yet on infrastructure beyond traditional telecommunications.
“We see significant potential to bring our experience in developing and operating large-scale data centre platforms to African markets,” Al Ashram said, adding that the new venture could help shape the continent’s growth.
Read also: MTN seeks local investors for $1.1bn IHS Nigeria stake to meet deal condition
MTN moves beyond telecoms
The partnership is part of MTN’s broader strategy to become more than a connectivity company.
Under its Ambition 2030 strategy, the group is seeking growth from three closely linked areas: connectivity, financial services and digital infrastructure.
AI data centres fit directly into that strategy because they provide the computing power required for cloud services, artificial intelligence, digital payments, enterprise applications and government technology systems.
MTN has already identified Nigeria and South Africa as the first markets for the data centre rollout. The company disclosed the 150MW plan in its first-half 2026 results, while CEO Ralph Mupita subsequently confirmed that MTN was taking a partnership-led approach to its AI business.
“The approach that we are taking on the building of our AI business is to partner with third parties,” Mupita said, referring to the UAE-based partner’s experience in developing data centres.
He said MTN was taking a phased approach, beginning with 150MW of AI data centre capacity.
The company has already started preparing for the buildout by acquiring land and negotiating power agreements, according to Mupita.
The strategy is significant because AI data centres require far more electricity and specialised infrastructure than conventional facilities. Securing reliable power, fibre connectivity and suitable land will therefore be as important as securing the billions of dollars required to build the facilities.
Africa’s AI infrastructure gap
MTN and Al Ashram are entering a market where demand is rising faster than the continent’s ability to provide AI computing infrastructure.
Africa has more than 210 data centres, but most conventional facilities are designed primarily to host websites, applications, databases and cloud workloads.
AI data centres are different. They are built around high-performance computing systems capable of training and running AI models, making them critical infrastructure for the next phase of the digital economy.
Africa still accounts for less than one percent of global AI data centre capacity, according to World Economic Forum data cited in reports on the MTN-Al Ashram partnership. That creates a major opportunity for investors but also exposes one of the continent’s biggest weaknesses.
Africa cannot fully benefit from AI if businesses, governments and developers must depend heavily on computing infrastructure located outside the continent.
Local facilities can help reduce latency, improve control over sensitive data and give African companies greater access to computing capacity.
The commercial opportunity is also expanding rapidly. Mastercard estimates that Africa’s AI market could grow from about $4.5 billion in 2025 to $16.5 billion by 2030. That growth will require significantly more computing power, cloud infrastructure, fibre networks and electricity.
Why Nigeria and South Africa matter
The decision to start in Nigeria and South Africa reflects the importance of both markets to MTN’s wider African strategy.
Nigeria offers a large digital economy, a huge consumer market and rapidly growing demand for cloud, fintech and enterprise technology services.
South Africa, meanwhile, has one of the continent’s most developed data centre and enterprise technology markets.
MTN’s existing network and digital infrastructure in both countries could also provide a natural customer base for the new facilities.
The company expects the centres to support its own technology requirements while also serving hyperscalers, enterprises and governments. That is where the bigger business opportunity lies.
Rather than simply operating data centres for its own network, MTN can potentially earn revenue by providing computing and hosting capacity to companies developing AI applications and cloud services.
The venture could therefore give MTN exposure to the infrastructure spending of global hyperscalers without having to build an entire AI ecosystem alone.
Power could determine the success of the plan
The biggest challenge may not be demand but electricity. A 150MW AI data centre network would require a substantial and reliable power supply, making MTN’s ongoing negotiations for power agreements a critical part of the project.
AI computing is highly power-intensive, and facilities cannot afford the prolonged outages that remain common across many African markets. This could make energy partnerships, captive power, renewable energy and battery storage central to the project’s economics.
The infrastructure requirements also explain why MTN is partnering with an investor with experience in the Middle East, where large-scale data centre development has expanded rapidly alongside investments in power and digital infrastructure.
Al Ashram said Africa now presents an opportunity similar to the one that emerged in the Middle East, driven by expanding digital economies and demand for resilient and scalable infrastructure.
Read also: MTN, Vodacom, Telkom, Cell C lose R199m to South Africa subscription fraud
A new revenue engine for MTN
The data centre strategy marks another step in MTN’s attempt to reduce its dependence on traditional telecom revenue. The group has already been expanding its fintech business, while exploring banking licences in selected African markets to deepen its lending operations.
Its data centre strategy follows the same logic: use MTN’s existing footprint and customer base to enter higher-growth digital businesses. The planned 150MW capacity is therefore likely to be only the beginning.
MTN has said future expansion will depend on demand, meaning the initial deployment could become the foundation for a much larger African AI infrastructure platform.
For MTN, the opportunity is to move from simply connecting Africans to becoming one of the companies providing the computing infrastructure on which their next generation of digital services will run.
For Africa, the significance is even larger: if the investment materialises at scale, it could help close part of the continent’s enormous AI infrastructure gap at a time when the global technology industry is shifting from a race for internet users to a race for computing power.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
Follow the story
