Telecom
Airtel Africa Unveils Nxtra by Airtel to Accelerate Africa’s Digital Transition
Airtel Africa has launched Nxtra by Airtel (“Nxtra”), a new data centre business founded on a commitment to meet the continent’s growing needs for trusted, and sustainable data centre capacity and to serve the fast-growing African digital economy.
Nxtra aims to build one of the largest network of data centres in Africa with high-capacity data centres in major cities located strategically across Airtel Africa’s footprint, complementing its existing edge sites.
Nxtra’s ambition will allow it to serve the growing need of African enterprises and its data centre infrastructure will be designed to host the next generation of computing, while providing multi-MW capacity in a phased manner.
These facilities will meet stringent global security requirements and meet ‘five nines’1 availability. Coupled with Airtel Africa’s extensive fibre footprint, Nxtra offers secure and scalable integrated solutions to global hyper-scalers, large African enterprises, startups, SMEs and governments.
Through locally available data centre capacity, speed to access digital services will improve and the cost of managing data will be reduced, thus helping power increased innovation, while supporting a new generation of African tech talent.
Furthermore, Nxtra is enabling customers meet data sovereignty requirements while at the same time enabling more local cloud services to be offered in the countries where Airtel Africa operates.
The first major Nxtra facility in Lagos, Nigeria, will deliver 34 MW of total power. It is designed to host high density racks and integrate the latest best practice construction to achieve 1.3 power usage effectiveness (PUE).
It is expected to be live in mid-2025.
To deliver on Nxtra’s vision, Airtel Africa has appointed Yashnath Issur, the former head of Global Data Centre Portfolio Management at Amazon Web Services, as CEO of Nxtra by Airtel. Yashnath has 16 years of experience in the industry and has, over the past year, built a team of experts to execute on the strategy.
Airtel Africa’s Group CEO, Segun Ogunsanya said: “A rapid increase in data centre capacity is needed to support the growth potential of Africa’s digital economy.
“We’re proud to drive the future of Africa’s digital infrastructure, unlocking opportunities for businesses to grow and fuelling economic prosperity.
“Airtel Africa’s team has consistently shown our ability to deliver on infrastructure projects across Africa, and we are confident that our next generation data centres will support our ambition to become the partner of choice for global customers and Africa’s newest tech unicorns alike.”
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
MultiChoice is closing its continental streaming platform Showmax after 11 years, notifying subscribers Thursday of the board’s decision to discontinue the service in the near future to refocus on sustainable digital offerings.
MultiChoice
The email assured no immediate disruption: “You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time.” Showmax, launched in South Africa in 2015 and expanded across Africa, offered movies, series, documentaries, and sports to rival Netflix and others amid rising online entertainment demand.
The shutdown follows Canal+’s approved takeover of MultiChoice last year, with the French giant offering ZAR 125 per share for remaining stakes.
The deal mandates HDP ownership boosts, local content investment, and splitting MultiChoice’s SA broadcasting arm into an independent entity to meet regulations.
MultiChoice prioritised subscribers during the transition, promising advance notice on timelines.
Showmax’s exit signals consolidation pressures in Africa’s cut-throat streaming market, where global players dominate despite local content strengths.
MultiChoice to Discontinue Showmax Streaming Platform
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