MTN to develop 150MW AI data centres in Nigeria, South Africa with UAE-backed investor

MTN Group plans to develop AI-enabled data centres with an initial capacity of about 150 megawatts (MW) across Nigeria and South Africa through a venture with an undisclosed UAE-backed investor.

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita disclosed the plan on Tuesday while outlining the company’s growth opportunities beyond its traditional telecommunications business.

He also disclosed that the group is exploring banking licences in select markets to eventually enable it to lend to customers from its own balance sheet.

The data centre plan comes as Africa’s artificial intelligence market is projected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2025 to $16.5 billion by 2030, increasing demand for the computing infrastructure required to develop and run AI applications.

What they are saying

The planned data centres will be developed through Africa Data Hub Holding, a venture involving MTN and an undisclosed UAE-backed investor with experience building data centres in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.

• Mupita said MTN would be a minority investor in the venture, while its partner would provide most of the capital and technical expertise for the development.
• The initial phase is expected to provide about 150MW of capacity across Nigeria and South Africa, with further expansion to depend on demand for computing capacity.

The proposed development will therefore initially focus on two of MTN’s key African markets, while creating the potential for the infrastructure to expand into other markets as demand for AI-related computing increases.

Get up to speed

MTN’s planned data centre development builds on its wider strategy to expand its digital infrastructure business as demand for artificial intelligence services increases across Africa.

• In September 2025, MTN Group said it was in advanced discussions with US and European companies over the development of data centres across the continent to support AI services.
• At the time, the group said potential partners could follow MTN into the 16 African markets where it operates, particularly in countries where demand for AI services was increasing.
• MTN Nigeria has also been expanding its own data centre capacity. In July 2026, the company launched the Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre, which it described as West Africa’s largest Tier III data centre and one of the largest in Africa.

The facility has a capacity of 9MW and is equipped with cloud infrastructure that MTN says is comparable with offerings from major providers including Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

What you should know

Africa still has a significant shortage of data centre infrastructure needed to support the expansion of AI and other digital services.

• The International Monetary Fund’s 2026 paper, Unlocking the Potential: AI in Sub-Saharan Africa, estimates that the region has only about 160 data centre facilities, accounting for roughly 5.5% of global installations despite its large population and rapidly expanding workforce.
• The infrastructure is also heavily concentrated in a few countries. Nearly half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s data centres are located in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, leaving much of the continent with only a small number of facilities.

The infrastructure gap comes as demand for computing capacity is expected to rise significantly alongside the growth of AI. Africa’s data centre market is projected to require between $10 billion and $20 billion in fresh investment in the coming years to meet that demand.