Pan-African telecoms group is forming a new data center venture with an unnamed investor from the Middle East.

In its half-year financial results published this month, the company said MTN Digital Infrastructure has entered into a strategic partnership with an unnamed UAE-backed data center investment platform to “accelerate the development of AI-ready digital infrastructure platforms across Africa.”

Full details, including the identity of the partner company, were not shared, but MTN will reportedly be a minority investor in the partnership.

Update: Bloomberg reports the investment partner is Tarek Al Ashram, the CEO of KKR-backed data center firm Gulf Data Hub, who will be investing via his own investment firm.

MTN said the new partnership – dubbed Africa Data Hub Holding Limited – will combine MTN's “extensive” African footprint, market knowledge, and infrastructure assets with international investment backing and specialist data center expertise.

“Africa Data Hub Holding Limited will serve as the platform through which future digital infrastructure opportunities will be developed and scaled across key African markets,” MTN said. “The agreement marks a significant milestone in the execution of the Group's data center strategy and supports its ambition to meet growing demand for cloud, enterprise and AI-enabled services across Africa.”

As part of its Ambition 2030 initiative, MTN aims to develop an AI-enabled platform to address growing demand for cloud, enterprise, and data-intensive services across Africa.

Local press, quoting MTN CEO Ralph Mupita, report the firm is targeting up to 150MW of capacity in the first phase.

Full details haven’t been shared, but priority markets have been identified, with South Africa and Nigeria selected for the initial deployment phase.

As well as a significant mobile and fiber network spanning multiple countries, MTN operates more than a dozen data centers across the African continent. Founded in 1994 and formerly M-Cell, the firm has facilities in South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, DR Congo, Uganda, and more.