MTN Group reportedly entered talks with potential partners in the US and Europe to support the rollout of AI data centres across Africa, as the operator vies to plug an infrastructure gap across the continent.

In an interview with Bloomberg, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita confirmed the group aims to construct data centres, secure tenants to supply AI compute and rent out capacity to businesses and governments across the continent.

MTN plans to directly invest in the build-out and is considering equipping the data centres with its own hardware. The Johannesburg-based operator has apparently broken ground on its first AI data centre in Nigeria, with an estimated cost of $240 million.

“We are now in the commercial negotiation phase and shortlisting partners who can help us scale,” Mupita stated, adding that the group aims to finalise agreements within a year. Potential global partners could include AI infrastructure specialists and hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Bloomberg reported.

The data centre initiative will be led by MTN’s dedicated AI infrastructure unit, Genova, to monetise assets, open platforms to third parties and unlock new revenue opportunities across the operator’s 16 African markets. The group is also assessing options to ensure consistent power supply to its data centres in markets with limited electricity infrastructure.

Africa currently holds less than 1 per cent of AI data centre capacity, despite having the fastest growing and youngest population globally, the news outlet reported. Existing compute infrastructure is largely concentrated in South Africa, where hyperscalers including Microsoft, Amazon and Alibaba operate cloud services.

Other industry players are also stepping up investment in the region. For instance, Microsoft and United Arab Emirates-based AI company G42 unveiled plans to build a $1 billion geothermal-powered facility in Kenya last year.