MTN Group is actively seeking public and private partners to co-develop large-scale data centres in Ghana, with Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita describing the push as a natural extension of the telecom giant’s continental digital infrastructure strategy.

Mupita made the disclosure during a three-day working visit to Accra in February 2026, during which he confirmed that MTN Group will invest US$1.1 billion in Ghana over the next three years, accelerating from the US$1 billion deployed over the preceding five years.

While the headline investment figure drew wide attention, Mupita was explicit that data centre development would not be a solo undertaking. He said MTN is open to structuring partnerships with both government and the private sector, provided the enabling conditions are right.

“The opportunity to develop data centres in Ghana is exciting,” Mupita said. “It is a natural extension of our digital infrastructure strategy, and we are ready to explore partnerships that make this vision a reality.”

He identified three preconditions that must be addressed for any data centre project to succeed: a reliable power supply, adequate land availability, and efficient cooling infrastructure. Without these inputs, he cautioned, large-scale investment in compute infrastructure would carry unacceptable operational risk.

MTN’s group-wide data centre programme is already under dedicated leadership. The company appointed Mazen Mroue as Chief Executive Officer of its Digital Infrastructure unit, Infraco, from January 2025, specifically to drive the continental data centre programme. Ghana sits within that broader agenda given its position as one of West Africa’s most active digital economies and its existing subsea cable landing infrastructure.

During the visit, Mupita also confirmed that MTN Ghana has been formally elevated to the status of a major subsidiary within the MTN Group, joining South Africa and Nigeria in the company’s top tier of strategic operations.

On financial technology, Mupita engaged the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on plans to expand mobile money services and committed to deploying artificial intelligence (AI) tools to combat fraud in the mobile money ecosystem, describing the threat as an industry-wide challenge rather than one specific to Ghana.

MTN Ghana Chief Executive Officer Stephen Blewett separately disclosed plans to roll out at least 500 new network sites by the end of 2026, a sharp acceleration from the 50 sites built in 2025.