Telecom
West Africa’s Data Centre Market – Growth Requires Skills, and OEMs can Help

By Faith Waithaka,
With some of Africa’s biggest data centre providers now based in West Africa, it would be safe to say that the region is going that an era of tremendous and even unprecedented growth.

Faith Waithaka
Traditionally quite modest, with capacities ranging from one to three Megawatts (MW), West Africa now features numerous high-capacity datacentres; with plans underway to build its first Tier-4, 1500 rack data centre later this year.
But with size comes complexity. Building a Tier-4 data centre is not simply a matter of scaling up from a 1 MW facility; technical requirements and complexities increase exponentially.
Let’s use UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) as an example, while commissioning a single unit is quite straightforward, paralleling multiple systems to achieve higher power outputs introduces significant complexity.
Here, you require an experienced design engineer that can plan for the integration of multiple systems from get-go, ensuring that components like bus bars and cables can handle the combined power load. Without this foresight, designs may fall short and necessitate costly and time-consuming revisions.
It’s double-edged sword, West Africa is going through a wonderful growth era but at the same time facing a lack of skilled individuals that can handle these big data centre projects. And unlike our peers in countries such as Sweden and Ireland, which have extensive experience with 40 MW or even 100 MW data centres, West Africa is still building its capacity.
Also, this skills gap spans from design and technical implementation to the ongoing maintenance of operations facilities, once up and running. There is therefore a critical need to develop a workforce capable of supporting both 1 MW facilities and large-scale 100 MW operations.
OEMs’ part to play
As global entities with extensive experience and expertise, OEMs can transfer knowledge and best practices to the West African data centre market. And it works, in East Africa, Schneider Electric is proactively leveraging its global expertise to upskill local teams in countries like Kenya to among others bring in specialists from Europe to work alongside local engineers.
This hands-on, on-the-job training leaves a lasting impact, building local capacity and importantly ensuring that the skills remain within the region.
However, OEMs can’t do it alone, and they shouldn’t. To accelerate the upskilling process, OEMs should form strategic partnerships with local companies, data centre operators, and educational institutions.
In turn, these partnerships can facilitate comprehensive training programmes, internships, and graduate placements, creating a pipeline of skilled professionals ready to meet the demands of the growing market.
There is also another element to consider; the positive impact Africa’s data centre growth will have on the rest of the world.
These facilities are becoming integral to the global digital infrastructure, supporting a wide range of services and applications.
It is therefore in all role players’ best interest to ensure that these data centres are built and operated to the highest standards. This investment will not only support local economies but also enhance the reliability and resilience of the global digital ecosystem.
Through strategic, local partnership, OEMs like Schneider Electric can contribute to an environment that fosters knowledge transfer and relevant, comprehensive training programmes.
Success is always reliant on the sum of its parts and OEMs have an important role to play in establishing West Africa as key player in the global data centre industry.
Faith Waithaka, works at Schneider Electric as Cloud and Service Provider Segment Sales Lead: Anglophone Africa.
Telecom
Airtel Africa Grew Customer Base to 169m as Q1 Revenue Hits $1.4 Billion

Airtel Africa has grown its customer base by 9.0% to 169.4 million, with data customers increasing 17.4% to 75.6 million with focus on bridging the digital divide across her markets continues. According to the telecommunications operator’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, which demonstrated strong growth across key metrics and a continued focus on expanding its services across its 14 African markets.
The operator reported a significant increase in revenue, reaching $1,415 million. This represents a 24.9% growth in constant currency and a 22.4% increase in reported currency, indicating a more stable macroeconomic environment in its operating regions and effective tariff adjustments, particularly in Nigeria.
The growth was broadly driven, with mobile services revenue increasing by 23.8% in constant currency. Data revenue showed exceptional performance, surging by 38.1%, while voice revenue grew by 13.9%. Mobile money services continued their strong upward trajectory, recording a 30.3% growth in constant currency. This was supported by accelerated growth in Francophone Africa (16.4% in constant currency) and continued strong performance in East Africa (20.3% in constant currency).
Airtel Africa’s profitability also saw a substantial uplift. EBITDA grew by 29.8% in reported currency to $679 million, with EBITDA margins expanding to 48.0% from 45.3% in the prior period. This margin expansion is attributed to sustained operating momentum, more stable fuel prices, and the ongoing benefits from cost efficiency programs.
Profit after tax saw a remarkable improvement, rising to $156 million compared to $31 million in the prior period. Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) stood at 3.4 cents, a significant increase from 0.2 cents in the previous year, primarily reflecting higher operating profit in the current period and the absence of large derivative and foreign exchange losses that impacted the prior period.
Operational highlights further underscored the company’s growth. Airtel Africa’s total customer base expanded by 9.0% to 169.4 million. Data customers increased by 17.4% to 75.6 million, as the company intensified its efforts to bridge the digital divide. Mobile money customer base also grew by 16.1% to 45.8 million, with transaction value increasing by 28.7% in constant currency.
The company’s strategic focus on enhancing customer experience is supported by ongoing network investments. Over 2,300 new sites were rolled out, bringing the total to 37,579 sites, and the fiber network was expanded by 2,700 km, now exceeding 79,600 km. This investment has boosted data capacity across the region, with 4G population coverage reaching 74.7%, an increase of 3.4% year-on-year.
Airtel Africa continued its debt localization program, with almost 95% of its operating company debt (excluding lease liabilities) now in local currency, up from 86% a year ago, reducing foreign currency debt exposure. The company also confirmed it has returned $16.9 million to shareholders through its ongoing share buyback program as of June 30, 2025.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, said: “We are very pleased with the strong growth in our operating and financial performance in the first quarter. The strength of this performance, and the scale of the growth we achieved, reflects the sustained demand for our services and the strength of our business model to meet these demands. Operationally, the acceleration in customer base growth to 9%, and 17.4% growth in our data customers to 75.6m reflects the strong on-ground execution with a relentless focus on digitisation and the simplification of the customer experience.”
Telecom
NITRA-ALTON CNII & Sustainability Conference Rescheduled for August 7 in Lagos

The 2025 edition of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) & Sustainability Conference has been rescheduled to hold on August 7, 2025, at CitiHeight Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, following a shift from its earlier date of July 30.
The adjustment was made to accommodate a nationwide telecom stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The CNII Conference, jointly organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) and Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), seeks to address the implementation and awareness gaps surrounding the CNII Order, signed into law by the Federal Government in August 2024.
The law designates telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, positioning it as a strategic asset vital to Nigeria’s economic and security framework. Industry groups including the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have thrown their weight behind the initiative.
Speaking on the new date, NITRA Chairman, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, emphasised that the Act, though laudable, requires industry-wide collaboration and clear implementation strategy for tangible impact.
“The mere proclamation of CNII as an Act does not guarantee infrastructure safety. Stakeholders must address operational and standardisation gaps to make the law work,” he said.
ALTON Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, also highlighted the need for regular maintenance and technology upgrades to curb vandalism and ensure infrastructure security.
Focus Areas of the Conference Include:
- Implementation mechanisms for the CNII Act.
- Stakeholders’ roles at federal, state, and industry levels.
- Security enforcement and public education.
- Infrastructure protection and sustainability.
- Collaboration and compliance across telecom companies.
Expected attendees include the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, regulators, service providers, security agencies, and key players in public and private sectors.
The event is themed “Industry Sustainability And CNII Conference 2025 – Way Forward”, with panel discussions aimed at creating a unified approach to safeguarding Nigeria’s telecom infrastructure under the CNII provisions.
Telecom
Telcos: How and Why Network Services have Been Poor

Telecommunications operators (telcos) in Nigeria have explained that the recent poor quality of network services experienced across the country is largely due to the widespread vandalism and theft of critical telecom infrastructure, not a failure on their part.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The operators, under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said their efforts to improve services through massive investments and network upgrades are being undermined by unchecked sabotage and the lack of sufficient protection from security agencies.
They warned that unless urgent action is taken, the situation could worsen in the coming days, affecting not just voice and data services but also key sectors like banking, education, healthcare, and national security that rely on stable telecommunications.
A top official from one of the major mobile network providers, who spoke anonymously, said operators had kept their promise to enhance service quality following a recent tariff adjustment approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), but their efforts are being eroded by relentless vandalism.
“At the wake of the marginal price adjustment that the NCC approved for the sector, we promised to optimize our networks to give Nigerians a very robust service,” the official said
“But what we are seeing after making such huge investments is that vandals are carting away our facilities without a challenge and selling them in open markets. That’s why services are a bit poor and that is why if nothing is done urgently, it will get worse.
In a statement jointly signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary, ALTON expressed deep concern over the scale and spread of infrastructure sabotage across the country.
“Since the Federal Government’s decisive interventions earlier this year to support industry sustainability, our members have committed unprecedented levels of investment in network optimization and capacity upgrades,” the statement read.
“New systems are being deployed, transmission equipment modernized, power systems overhauled, and thousands of kilometers of fiber optic networks currently being laid and expanded. Our industry has not seen this scale of investment in recent years. We are working round the clock to improve the quality of service nationwide and we cannot afford these setbacks.”
Between May and July 2025, the association recorded numerous cases of vandalism at telecom sites across Rivers, Ogun, Osun, Imo, Kogi, Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, and several other states, resulting in widespread outages and degraded service quality for millions of subscribers.
Stolen assets include power cables, rectifiers, fiber optic and feeder cables, diesel generators, batteries, and solar panels, all vital for maintaining consistent network availability.
“These are not mere materials, but the backbone of our digital economy, security systems, and national communications grid,” ALTON said. “We are alarmed at the frequency, intensity, and geographical spread of these incidents.”
Telcos on poor network services also raised alarm over a thriving black market for stolen telecom equipment.
“Batteries are being resold for household and office inverters, solar panels are stripped from sites and traded to unsuspecting buyers, while diesel meant for powering telecom base stations is routinely siphoned and sold.”
In addition to vandalism, ALTON cited damage caused by road construction and civil engineering projects, which frequently destroy underground fiber optic cables, leading to unplanned service disruptions and financial losses.
The group has called on key security stakeholders, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, and the NSCDC to urgently step in and protect telecom assets nationwide.
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