NCC, telcos urge collaboration on AI infrastructure devt

Nigeria’s telecom regulator and industry operators have called for urgent collaboration to develop Africa’s artificial intelligence infrastructure, warning that the continent risks falling behind in the AI-driven global economy if it does not build local capacity.

The call comes at a time when AI adoption is accelerating worldwide, with the United States, China and the European Union investing heavily in hyperscale data centres, advanced chips and sovereign AI models.

The concerns were raised during a recent high-level virtual forum convened by Africa Hyperscalers, which brought together regulators, telecom operators, cloud providers, hyperscalers, data-centre operators and frontier-technology leaders.

The meeting examined what Africa must build to compete in an AI-driven economy, focusing on compute capacity, cloud infrastructure, high-speed connectivity, stable power, governance and skilled talent, pillars considered essential to sustaining modern AI workloads.

Delivering the keynote address, themed “AI-Ready Africa: Building the Compute, Cloud, and Connectivity Foundations for the Next Digital Leap”, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, said AI has become “part of the basic infrastructure of competitiveness, just like roads, power, and ports.”

He emphasised that countries that build the right foundations “will unlock new productivity, new jobs, and new opportunities,” while those that do not “will find themselves consuming other people’s innovations instead of shaping their own.”

The executive highlighted Africa’s most urgent gaps, including the compute divide, algorithmic divide, and data divide. He stressed the importance of locally governed data and African-relevant AI models.

The NCC boss reiterated the commission’s commitment to connectivity expansion, open-access frameworks, cloud adoption, data centre development, cybersecurity, and adaptive regulation, noting that “the digital future is a shared future.”

Africa has just over 210 data centres, with 46 per cent concentrated in four key markets, including Nigeria. Nigeria has about 21 active centres, and nearly two-thirds of them are in Lagos. Despite growth, the country’s total data-centre capacity was only 56.1 MW in 2025, and analysts say it needs to expand almost fourfold by 2030 to meet rising digital demand.

President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Emoekpere, explained that artificial intelligence is no longer just an abstract idea for the telecoms sector.

He pointed out that companies are already starting to use AI in practical ways like predicting when network equipment might fail (predictive maintenance), improving how they interact with customers, making networks run more efficiently, and analysing operations to make better decisions.

But he also warned that these benefits won’t be fully realised unless telecom companies work together more closely. Without coordination, Nigeria and Africa as a whole risk falling behind other parts of the world that are rapidly adopting AI.

The forum also featured a keynote panel on “Building the Right Infrastructure for AI-Driven Telecom Networks”, moderated by CEO Dr Ayotunde Coker of Open Access Data Centres. Panellists included General Manager, Bukola Ajayi, Architecture and Enterprise IT, MTN Nigeria; CEO, Kendall Ananyi, Tizeti; Director, Oladejo Olawumi, IT Infrastructure Solutions, NITDA; VP/Chief Information Security Officer and Group Head of AI, Mike Salem, IHS Towers; Regional Account Manager, Wilson Eigbadon, Vertiv; Head, Engr. Babagana Digima, Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, NCC; and Co-Founder, Dotun Adeoye, AI in Nigeria.

The General Manager, Architecture and Enterprise IT, MTN Nigeria, Bukola Ajayi, stressed that the countries with the strongest infrastructure discipline will lead in AI, noting that energy and connectivity remain decisive enablers.

The executive emphasised that AI-ready data centres require high availability, liquid cooling, and resilient networks, warning that “if you don’t have connectivity, you can’t even talk about AI.”

On the power challenge, Regional Account Manager at Vertiv, Wilson Eigbadon, said Africa is entering an era where “data centres opportunities will have to bring their own power,” pointing to new gas corridors and decentralised power policies as for more reliable energy.

The CEO of Open Access Data Centres, Dr Ayotunde Coker, added that global trends show even advanced markets “are now looking for small nuclear reactors” as AI workloads expand.

Talent development emerged as a strong theme. Co-founder of AI in Nigeria, Dotun Adeoye, highlighted that with 63 per cent of Nigerians under 25, “the future depends on how early we train the next generation,” calling for structured AI clubs, industry, university partnerships, and practical training aligned with real infrastructure environments

“No matter how much we talk about infrastructure or data, we will need local talent to drive this,” he said.

Collaboration was repeatedly emphasised across speakers. VP/Chief Information Security Officer and Group Head of AI, IHS Towers, Mike Salem, noted that Africa will only progress “if infrastructure providers, carriers, hyperscalers, government, and investors work as an ecosystem,” adding that “no company can build AI infrastructure alone; collaboration is not optional.”

Director, Oladejo Olawumi, IT Infrastructure Solutions, NITDA, reinforced the importance of data sovereignty, noting that “data is the currency on which AI runs,” and warning that Africa must ensure its strategic datasets remain local, trusted, and interoperable.

The session offered a rare cross-sector view of Africa’s AI readiness, examining infrastructure gaps, investment needs, and policy frameworks required to support AI workloads at scale. Supported by Vertiv and ATCON, the forum signalled stronger alignment between government, operators, and technology leaders on building the continent’s AI foundation.

Africa Hyperscalers continues to champion the collaboration needed to strengthen Africa’s digital backbone across data centres, cloud, connectivity, power systems, and AI infrastructure.