MTN Partners UAE Investor to Build AI Data Centres in Africa

In Short

• MTN Digital Infrastructure has announced a strategic partnership with a UAE-based data-centre investment platform.
• The partners will use Africa Data Hub Holding Limited to build and scale AI-ready data centre capacity.
• The first markets are South Africa and Nigeria, with a first-phase target of about 150MW.

What Happened

MTN Digital Infrastructure, part of MTN, said on 27 August 2026 that it has signed a strategic partnership with a UAE-based data-centre investment platform. The goal is to build and scale AI-ready digital infrastructure platforms across key African markets. The rollout starts in South Africa and Nigeria.

The partnership will operate through Africa Data Hub Holding Limited. MTN has previously described Africa Data Hub as a vehicle it set up to invest in data centres and related infrastructure on the continent. Under the new deal, MTN says it will be a minority investor in the venture.

MTN has not disclosed its exact equity stake, the total capital commitment, or the full financial terms. The UAE partner is expected to provide most of the capital and much of the specialist data-centre expertise.

In media comments tied to the announcement, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said the venture is targeting around 150 megawatts of AI data-centre capacity in the first phase across South Africa and Nigeria. “Megawatts” here refers to the power capacity needed to run large data centres, and it is a common way the industry sizes them.

The sites are described as AI-ready. That means they are designed with higher power density and advanced cooling, which are needed for GPU-heavy workloads (chips used to train and run AI models).

Why It Matters

Data centres are a key dependency for cloud and AI services, and many African businesses still rely on compute hosted outside the continent. More local capacity can reduce latency, which is the time it takes data to travel between users and servers.

MTN is positioning itself to earn from more than mobile connectivity. It wants a larger role in the digital infrastructure stack, including cloud and enterprise services.

The deal also leans on Bayobab, MTN’s connectivity unit, which will support open-access fibre connectivity and go-to-market. If MTN and its partner can secure reliable land and power in South Africa and Nigeria, the 150MW target could become a baseline for multi-phase expansion as demand grows.