Frank Okon

MTN Group is advancing plans to build AI-enabled data centres in South Africa and Nigeria, betting on rapid growth in Africa’s digital infrastructure needs. The announcement comes as part of MTN’s broader Ambition 2030 strategy, which reorganises the business around three platforms: connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure.

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In its annual results for the year to December 2025, MTN said it completed comprehensive market assessments in early 2025, confirming South Africa and Nigeria as priority markets for greenfield data centre development. The company has also shortlisted strategic partners for co-investment and operating arrangements, though it did not name the partners or disclose financial details.

“The broader industry shift towards large-scale AI compute infrastructure — driven by rapid growth in model training, inference, and data-intensive workloads — reinforces the substantial opportunity MTN Digital Infrastructure is positioning for in Africa,” the company said.

Digital infrastructure is one of three pillars of MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, alongside advancing fibre networks and unlocking tower value. MTN’s existing digital infrastructure business, housed under the Bayobab brand, delivered resilient results in 2025 despite some headwinds. It generated consolidated external revenue of R5.6-billion, with EBITDA rising 38.8% in constant currency to R1.8-billion, driven by an improved revenue mix and cost optimisation.

The fibre segment was the standout performer, growing 41.2% in external revenue thanks to new fixed-connectivity contracts, FibreCo launches, network expansion, and enhanced service delivery. A key milestone was the fourth-quarter activation of the 2Africa West Subsea Route, providing high-speed, low-latency capacity along the West African coast. In addition, MTN’s South Sudan subsidiary secured a 15-year licence to construct and operate electronic communications systems.

The communications platforms segment, which handles international and transit voice traffic, saw revenue decline 24.3% in constant currency due to reduced traffic volumes. However, MTN said Bayobab secured strategic partnerships and undertook efficiency improvements to strengthen margins and sustainability.

MTN’s data centre ambitions complement its proposed acquisition of the 75% of IHS Holdings it does not already own, announced in February 2026. The deal, focused on IHS’s African operations, would allow MTN to unlock value from towers and position it as Africa’s largest and most complete digital infrastructure provider.

The move comes amid growing investment in African data infrastructure, including Microsoft’s R5.4-billion commitment in South Africa and expansions by global hyperscalers. MTN plans to provide more details on its digital infrastructure strategy and capital allocation at a Capital Markets Day in June 2026.