Data Centres & Networks

MTN and UAE investor to build AI infrastructure platforms across Africa

MTN and UAE investor to build AI infrastructure platforms across Africa

MTN Digital Infrastructure confirmed on Thursday that it has formed a new company in partnership with UAE-based investor Tarek Al Ashram to speed up development of AI-ready digital infrastructure platforms across Africa.

The new firm, Africa Data Hub Holding Limited, will serve as the platform for developing and scaling future digital infrastructure across key African markets, with an initial focus on South Africa and Nigeria.

MTN Digital Infrastructure's digital connectivity subsidiary Bayobab – which also holds a share in Africa Data Hub –will provide open access connectivity and go-to-market support for the new platforms via its pan-African network, enabling customers to access digital infrastructure services across multiple markets.

According to a Bloomberg report, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita said Africa Data Hub will take a phased approach, starting with a target AI data centre capacity of 150MW.

MTN Group Digital Infrastructure CEO Mazen Mroué said the partnership represents an important milestone in MTN's Ambition 2030 strategy, noting that growing demand for cloud computing, AI workloads and data-intensive digital services across Africa will make access to resilient, scalable and locally hosted digital infrastructure increasingly critical to Africa’s competitiveness and economic growth.

"Realising this opportunity requires more than connectivity. It requires the infrastructure platforms that will power the next generation of digital services, businesses and innovation," Mroué said in a statement. "Together, we are bringing investment, infrastructure expertise, connectivity and market access into a single platform capable of supporting hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprises and technology innovators across Africa.”

Al Ashram has a track record across the Middle East as a data centre developer, operator and investor, to include founding UAE colocation provider Gulf Data Hub in 2011.

“Over the past years, we have seen firsthand how the development of world-class data centre infrastructure can support the rapid growth of cloud, digital services and AI across the Middle East,” he said. “Africa now presents a similarly compelling opportunity, driven by strong underlying demand, rapidly expanding digital economies and an increasing need for resilient and scalable infrastructure.”

MTN first mentioned plans for Africa Data Hub in its H1 2026 financial results released earlier this week, saying that the deal was made after the first-half reporting period. However, the report didn’t name Al Ashram, saying only that MTN was partnering with a “UAE-backed data centre investment platform”.



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