MTN and UAE Investor Tarek Al Ashram Launch Joint Venture to Build 150MW of AI Data Centres in Africa

MTN Group has formed a new joint venture, Africa Data Hub Holding Limited, with Dubai-based investor Tarek Al Ashram to develop AI-ready data centre infrastructure across Africa, targeting an initial 150 megawatts of capacity in South Africa and Nigeria.

The Deal

Announced in late August 2026, the joint venture pairs MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile operator, with Al Ashram, founder of UAE colocation provider Gulf Data Hub. MTN will hold a minority stake in Africa Data Hub Holding Limited, while Al Ashram's investment platform supplies most of the capital and specialist data centre expertise. MTN's connectivity subsidiary, Bayobab, will provide open-access network support across the venture's African markets.

Initial Footprint

Phase one targets South Africa and Nigeria, with a combined goal of 150MW of AI-capable data centre capacity, expanding to other African markets as demand grows. MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita and MTN Digital Infrastructure CEO Mazen Mroue both described the phased approach as designed to match capacity build-out to real compute demand from enterprises and hyperscalers on the continent.

Why it matters

Africa currently hosts under 1% of global data centre capacity despite holding roughly 18-20% of the world's population, and McKinsey estimates the continent needs $10-20 billion in new data centre investment by 2030 to meet surging AI compute demand. A telecom-backed, foreign-capitalised joint venture of this scale points to growing international investor appetite for African AI infrastructure, an area long seen as a binding constraint on the continent's ability to build and run AI products locally.