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Telecom operators across Africa are pouring billions of dollars into network upgrades, data centres and cloud partnerships as the increased use of artificial intelligence is putting pressure on the continent’s digital infrastructure.
Operators are investing heavily in AI-ready data centres, expanding 4G and 5G networks, and stronger backhaul systems to handle the massive energy demands and data volumes generated by AI-driven services.
According to the GSMA Mobile Economy Report 2026, operators are expanding 4G coverage, accelerating 5G rollouts and upgrading high-capacity fibre backhaul to handle the massive data volumes generated by AI-driven services.
“Operators in Africa are investing heavily in building digital infrastructure that can support the scale and complexity of AI applications,” said GSMA in the report.
AI technologies rely on the constant processing and movement of large datasets, placing far heavier demands on mobile networks than traditional digital services such as messaging or video streaming.
To cope with the rising load, telcos are also deploying edge computing infrastructure, which allows data to be processed closer to users rather than in distant global data centres. This reduces delays and improves performance for AI-powered applications.
The surge in investment reflects the growing role of telecom networks as the backbone of Africa’s emerging AI ecosystem, which supports numerous applications, including precision agriculture, connected health systems, automated manufacturing, and digital financial services.
“These investments not only create the technical foundation for AI deployment, but also help to overcome Africa’s unique constraints of affordability, geographic spread and uneven access to reliable digital infrastructure,” said GSMA.
Most of these investments were reported in 2025 by giant telcos operating in East, West and Southern Africa regions.
Kenya’s Safaricom entered a strategic partnership with IXAfrica, a hyperscale data centre operator, to provide what the companies described as East Africa’s first AI-ready data centre services. The facility is billed to offer local computing power for enterprises and cloud service providers, reducing reliance on overseas data centres and improving the speed of AI-based services in the region.
The investment is part of Safaricom’s quest to expand Kenya’s digital infrastructure as demand for cloud computing, data storage, and AI-powered services continues to grow.
In Nigeria, MTN launched the Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre, a Tier III facility designed to support AI, cloud computing and enterprise digital services. The centre, described as the largest data centre in West Africa, offers locally priced services in Nigerian Naira, a move aimed at making advanced computing capacity more accessible and cheaper to local companies and startups.
MTN said the facility will help Nigerian businesses compete globally in areas such as AI development, digital services and large-scale data processing. Nigeria has become one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital markets, and demand for local data processing capacity has surged as more businesses adopt cloud-based and AI-driven services.
In South Africa, MTN also entered a strategic partnership with China Telecom and Huawei to strengthen its 5G networks, cloud services, artificial intelligence and Internet-of-Things technologies.
The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of digital solutions across industries, including mining, logistics and industrial automation, sectors where AI-powered monitoring and analytics are increasingly being used to improve efficiency and safety.
As operators scale up infrastructure investments, AI experts argue that the sector also needs to confront a sharp rise in energy demand. Artificial intelligence systems, they said, consume vast computing power, particularly when training large machine-learning models and running complex real-time applications.
That computing power, Alliance4AI co-founder Alex Tsado said, is delivered through data centres and high-capacity networks that consume large amounts of electricity.
“AI is essentially an energy guzzler because the computing power required to train and run these models is extremely high,” said Tsado in an interview on the continent’s AI ecosystem.
Tsado warned that Africa’s AI ambitions will depend on expanding digital infrastructure and ensuring the continent has enough reliable and affordable power to support the technology.
“If Africa wants to build a competitive AI ecosystem, we must invest simultaneously in data infrastructure and energy infrastructure,” he said, noting that data centres and AI workloads are among the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand globally.
Beyond infrastructure investments, African telecom operators are also deploying AI internally to transform how their networks are designed and managed.
According to the GSMA report, operators are building in-house data science and machine learning expertise while deploying AI tools to automate network management and improve operational efficiency.
They are leveraging AI-driven systems for predictive maintenance, intelligent traffic management and automated fault detection to identify problems before they disrupt services.
In August 2025, Airtel Africa entered a multi-year, multi-million-dollar partnership with Xtelify to deploy an AI-powered software platform, it said, that simplifies telecom operations and improves customer experience across its 14 African markets.
The platform is designed to automate network management processes, improve service delivery and help Airtel respond more quickly to network issues and changing customer demand.
“We’re not only simplifying our operations but also accelerating hyper-personalised experiences for our customers,” said Airtel Africa’s Group Chief Information Officer, Jacques Barkhuizen, in a statement.
MTN Nigeria is also implementing AI solutions to optimise network traffic and enhance service delivery.
“AI is not just about automation. It’s about boosting human potential, increasingly becoming seamlessly embedded into our daily activities, decisions and experiences, transforming how we live and work,” said MTN Group Digital Infrastructure Chief Executive Officer, Mazen Mroué.
Credit: Conrad Onyango, Bird Story Agency
