Airtel Africa bets on AI and data hubs
Airtel Africa identified artificial intelligence, industry partnerships, and data centers as essential components for expanding digital services across the continent. Chief Executive Sunil Taldar told attendees at a technology conference on Wednesday in Kigali that telecommunications companies must shift focus from basic connectivity toward systems that generate economic value. The mobile operator plans to build data storage facilities in Nigeria and Kenya while using machine learning to detect fraudulent transactions and optimize energy consumption at transmission sites.
Rwanda President Paul Kagame opened the annual Mobile World Congress by noting that African nations transformed from limited network access to mobile-based economies within years. He urged governments and private companies to align regulations that allow secure cross-border data transfers and payment processing. Taldar said the region needs locally processed information, domestically trained workers, and technology scaled for global markets. He emphasized that fiber-optic networks linking data centers will extend digital participation to isolated communities.
