MTN in Talks With US, EU Firms on African AI Data Centers Deal
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.”
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 center 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 center 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 centers 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 center business unit, called Genova, will form part of the group’s overall strategy to monetize 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 centers in its markets where electricity infrastructure is often limited.
