Nigeria has secured over $1.1 billion in development finance for Project BRIDGE — a plan to extend its fibre backbone from 35,000km to 125,000km. The World Bank will only disburse if milestones are met. MTN reported 5,400 fibre cuts in seven months. Whether BRIDGE succeeds or stalls will determine Nigeria’s digital trajectory for the next decade.
Month: March 2026
153 posts
Africa’s AI Data Centre Race: MTN Lagos, Microsoft Kenya, and the Power Problem
Africa’s data centre market is projected to double to $4.36B by 2031. MTN’s $240M Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre in Lagos and Microsoft’s $1B geothermal-powered East Africa Cloud Region in Kenya represent the continent’s most ambitious physical AI infrastructure bets — and reveal how power, not capital, is the real constraint.
MTN’s $2.2B IHS Towers Buyout: Africa’s Biggest Telecoms Infrastructure Play, Explained
MTN Group’s $2.2 billion acquisition of IHS Towers — one of Africa’s largest independent tower companies — reshapes 4G/5G rollout economics across Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and beyond. Here is what the deal means, who wins, and who has cause for concern.
South Africa’s Grid Has Held for 335 Days. Here Is Why — and What Could Break It
South Africa achieved more than 335 consecutive days without loadshedding by March 2026. This is a genuine structural shift, not luck. But the coal fleet is aging, the just energy transition is underfunded, and Eskom’s debt has not gone away. The analysis behind the milestone.
Egypt’s 1GW Solar Race: The DFI Financing Architecture Behind Africa’s Largest Renewable Projects
Egypt 1GW solar race 2026 — AMEA Power, Scatec, DFI financing structures, and what Egypt’s renewable pipeline means for North African energy transition.
Kenya Raises the Stablecoin Bar: KES 500M Capital Rule and the Nairobi Crypto Hub Play
Kenya’s National Treasury has published draft VASP regulations that set the continent’s steepest capital threshold for stablecoin issuers — KES 500…
Paystack Acquires Ladder MFB + CBN N250M Fine: Two Chapters of the Same Regulatory Story
Paystack was fined N250 million for operating Zap without a banking licence in April 2025. Eight months later it acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank. The timeline is not a coincidence — it is a strategy.
Europe’s New Bet on Africa: EIB Backs €200M Speedinvest Africa Fund
When the European Investment Bank committed €40 million to Speedinvest’s new Africa-focused venture fund in mid-March, it did not make it onto the front…
South Africa’s Competition Regulator Is in Private Talks to Loosen Telecom M&A Rules. MTN Has Telkom in Its Sights
South Africa’s Competition Commission is holding private talks with the telecoms industry about relaxing M&A rules to enable 5G and AI infrastructure investment at scale. MTN CEO Ralph Mupita is leading the push — and Telkom, Africa’s largest fibre operator, is back in the frame.
One Licence, Two Markets: What the Kenya-Rwanda Payment Passporting Deal Means for East African Fintech
Kenya and Rwanda signed the Kigali Declaration on Fintech Licence Passporting on 11 March 2026. We break down which payment firms benefit, who is left out, and what this means for East African financial integration.