Africa has an energy crisis, and its digital infrastructure might suffer the heaviest hit

In the latest MTN Chair episode, Africa’s energy crisis, economic dependence and fragmented regulatory environment dominated the conversation. A central theme of the discussion rests on how the continent’s future blinks cold from ongoing digital deficits. 

Africa’s digital revolution, which cuts across data centres, telecom towers, submarine cable connections, cloud computing, high-speed internet and artificial intelligence, depends on reliable electricity generation and grid distribution. While alternative power sources such as solar panels and diesel generators exist, their limited capacity and high operating costs make them unreliable as long-term solutions.

With over 600 million unique mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 billion total mobile phone subscriptions across the continent, Africa’s mobile connectivity continues to expand, driven by a young population and rising demand for data. However, the continent is confronted by structural gaps.

These challenges were highlighted by two MTN Chiefs: Mr Mcebisi Jonas, MTN Group Chairman and Dr Ishmael Yamson, MTN Ghana Chairman. Both shared how Africa’s persistent power deficit poses a major threat to its technological ambitions, coupled with disjointed regulatory regimes and a lack of unity. 

Data centres and telecom towers need stable electricity generation to run at full capacity. Solar or diesel generators are unreliable, and the continent cannot build a digital and AI-driven economy or host sovereign data centres on diesel generators and unstable grids.

“Digitalisation thrives and depends on energy,” said Jonas, calling for energy independence. He noted that “the continent is in a crucial and crossroad position. Africa needs to look at how we achieve energy independence because energy seriously drives growth.” 

Despite mobile 5G services operating in roughly 29 African countries, which were launched by over 50 mobile operators as of January 2026, only  1.2% to 3.8% of Africa’s 1 billion connections have access to active 5G, a network that has been around since 2019. Infrastructure deficits, power supply gaps, and weak fibre-optic cable networks continue to drag the continent’s broadband connectivity growth. 

The MTN Group Chairman clarified that if Africa wants to build an internet economy capable of driving Pan-African prosperity, the continent must treat energy independence and regulatory harmonisation as foundational engines of its digital future, and not as separate policy goals. Such dependence is how the entire continent has for long relied on one submarine cable repair firm, leaving millions of Africans disconnected or without a quality network when multiple cuts occur. 

While big companies such as Dangote Refinery, Exxon and others currently in the development stage are striving to bridge this gap, Africa needs an abundance of energy and infrastructure supply if it’s going to thrive digitally. 

Africa’s regulatory fragmentation

At the recent African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL-26) in Abuja, heads of regulators across the continent were urged to adopt evidence-based and unified regulation to address their challenges. At the roundtable discussion, it was clarified that the continent is unified in terms of digital infrastructure challenges and that using a tested, proven solution is the key. 

To achieve true independence, the continent must be on “one Africa”. This point was raised by both MTN Chairmen. Differences in the regulatory environment cause strict technicalities and pose difficult market conditions for companies operating in more than one or two African countries. 

For instance, companies like Stanbic IBTC, MTN, Airtel or Dangote operate across multiple African borders, but they do not experience “one Africa.” They tend to navigate about 5 to 15 wildly different and conflicting regulatory frameworks. Balancing these mismatches and aligning with bureaucratic indifference often cripple multinational scalability. 

“Africa cannot compete globally when its largest corporations operate in 15 distinct legal silos within the same continent,” said Dr Ishmael Yamson. 

While it’s easy for European or US tech firms to scale across vast unified markets, African multinationals often spend millions aligning with different national policies.

Beyond how it cripples growth plus talent-driven economy, innovation is at risk. During the interview, Yamson mentioned that Africa contributes less than 3% to global innovations. He added that this will not change as long as local capital and homegrown multinationals continue to face these bottlenecks. 

The Chairman called for policy unification across telecoms, power grids, and data sovereignty laws, noting that it is required to create a robust digital market.

Also Read: Nigeria launches continental AI initiative as Africa’s telecom union elects new leadership in Abuja.

Africa needs its own G7

In building a one Africa, both MTN Chairmen said the government must extend more support to its own multinationals over foreigners. Governments must view these regional champions as strategic engines for continental development and not threats.

In a replica of the world’s G5 and G7, Africa needs such leadership. A strong voice from its big economies, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya, to align macroeconomic and trade policies. 

They also mentioned that free movement of labour and talent, like the EU, must occur in Africa, though Seychelles, Benin, The Gambia, Rwanda and others have adopted frameworks. Africa cannot build a global tech ecosystem if its talents, engineers, and experts face severe visa hurdles to work across African borders.