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ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, has partnered with a UAE-based data centre investment platform to develop AI-ready digital infrastructure supporting cloud and other data-intensive services across the continent.
The two partners will pursue the venture through Africa Data Hub Holding Limited, initially focusing on South Africa and Nigeria before expanding into other African markets, MTN said in a statement.
“The strategic partnership represents an important milestone in MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy and reflects the group’s commitment to enabling the infrastructure foundations required to support Africa’s next phase of digital transformation and economic development,” the company said.
The partnership will combine MTN Digital Infrastructure’s network of assets, market knowledge and presence across Africa with the UAE platform’s investment, development and data-centre operating expertise.
MTN said the venture would seek to meet growing demand from cloud service providers, enterprises, technology companies and other users of AI-enabled and data-intensive services.
Bayobab, MTN’s digital connectivity business and a shareholder in the partnership, will provide open-access connectivity and support the venture in taking its services to customers through its pan-African network.
The UAE investment platform was founded by Tarek Al Ashram, an experienced data centre developer, operator and investor in the Middle East, according to MTN.
The statement did not name the UAE platform or explicitly identify Gulf Data Hub as MTN’s partner. Al Ashram is the founder and chief executive of Gulf Data Hub, a Dubai-headquartered data-centre operator backed by global investment firm KKR.
“Africa’s digital economy is entering a new era, driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, cloud adoption and digital innovation,” said Mazen Mroué, CEO of MTN Group Digital Infrastructure.
“Realising this opportunity requires more than connectivity. It requires the infrastructure platforms that will power the next generation of digital services, businesses and innovation,” he added.
Mroué said the partnership would combine investment, infrastructure expertise, connectivity and access to African markets in a platform capable of serving hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprises and technology companies.
Al Ashram said the development of large-scale data centre infrastructure had supported the expansion of cloud computing, digital services and AI in the Middle East.
“Africa now presents a similarly compelling opportunity, driven by strong underlying demand, rapidly expanding digital economies and an increasing need for resilient and scalable infrastructure,” he said.
Al Ashram said Africa Data Hub Holding would provide a platform through which the partners could invest in, develop and expand data centre infrastructure across the continent.
Established in 2012, Gulf Data Hub is one of the Middle East’s largest independent carrier- and vendor-neutral data-centre operators. At the time of its partnership announcement with KKR in January 2025, it owned seven purpose-built data centres in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and planned additional facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The company provides infrastructure for hyperscalers, cloud companies and enterprise-software customers, including secure facilities designed to operate continuously.
In January 2025, funds affiliated with KKR agreed to acquire a stake in Gulf Data Hub through the global investment firm’s infrastructure strategy. The size of the stake and the value of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Following completion of the transaction, KKR and Gulf Data Hub committed to support more than $5 billion of investment to expand data centre capacity across Gulf countries and pursue the company’s international growth plans through new developments and acquisitions.
Al Ashram said at the time that Gulf Data Hub had developed into one of the region’s most successful data centre platforms over the preceding 12 years and that KKR’s investment would support its regional expansion.
