HS Towers and MTN Group extend Nigerian tower leases to 2032, addressing governance issues and securing their partnership for a decade. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Following last week's announcement that IHS Holding Limited and MTN Group have renewed and extended their communications infrastructure agreements in Nigeria

The companies revealed that they will now address previously raised governance issues constructively, with their commercial relationship solidified for the next decade.

On August 7, 2024, IHS Towers and MTN Group agreed to extend their Master Lease Agreements for Nigerian towers through December 2032. The renewed contracts feature revised financial terms aimed at achieving a more balanced split between local and foreign currencies. This renewal completes the extension of approximately 26,000 MTN tenancies on IHS Towers’ infrastructure across six African countries: Nigeria, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Zambia, and South Africa.

Sustainable network investment focus

MTN Group holds around 26% of IHS Towers, a stake established before the tower company's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.

MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita said, “The renewal of the various contracts across our markets into the next decade put MTN operations in the respective markets onto a more sustainable footing. We remain focused on ensuring our networks are well invested, have high availability and have the headroom to meet the growing and structural demand for data going into the future. These renewals are key to those priorities. We look forward to working constructively with IHS on the outstanding governance issues now that commercial arrangements have been concluded.”

Sam Darwish, chairman & CEO, IHS Towers, commented, “As our largest customer and longest serving partner, we are proud to have completed the renewal of all tenancies with MTN Group in our African markets. Today, we reinforce our strategic relationship and commit to increased operational stability, by securing our revenue streams into the next decade, and leveraging our shared innovation to deliver critical connectivity and support digital inclusion across the African continent. We are excited by the next phase of our commercial partnership and welcome the opportunity to work constructively for the benefit of the end user.” 

Building on their 20+ year relationship as commercial partners, both companies will leverage their shared operational excellence and engineering expertiseto meet the end users’ increasingly sophisticated data demands. Together, IHS Towers and MTN Group have a track record of navigating complex operating environments and challenging macroeconomic conditions to deliver connectivity crucial to economic growth and digital inclusion.

iXAfrica Data Centres and Moringa School launch Kenya’s first comprehensive Data Protection course. (Image source: iX Africa)

iXAfrica Data Centres, Kenya’s leading hyper-scale, AI-ready data center, has formed a pioneering partnership with Moringa School, a top technology skills provider

This collaboration introduces Kenya's first comprehensive Data Protection course, covering cloud fundamentals and data center management, while enhancing data security awareness nationwide.

Data protection training

The partnership was inaugurated at iXAfrica’s state-of-the-art NBOX1 Data Centre in Nairobi, with Kenya’s Data Protection Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, MBS, in attendance. This initiative marks a significant step in advancing the technology capabilities of professionals in Kenya and East Africa, particularly in data protection and security.

Kenya is at the forefront in Africa with its Data Protection Regulation, which mirrors the EU’s GDPR standards. The Data Protection Act, enacted in November 2019, has ushered in a new era of data privacy, granting individuals enforceable rights over their personal information and establishing clear guidelines for data handling by public and private entities.

Moringa School, a leader in tech vocational training in Software Engineering, Data Science, and Cybersecurity, recognizes the critical need to improve data compliance skills for business professionals. Their robust corporate training programs, including Safaricom’s Digital Academy, highlight their dedication to equipping organizations with essential data protection skills.

Through this partnership, iXAfrica Data Centres and Moringa School will offer a distinctive and impactful Data Privacy training course tailored for the business sector, helping organisations meet compliance with the Office of Data Protection (ODPC) and adhere to Data Sovereignty requirements.

Nikki Germany, CEO of Moringa School, expressed, “Partnering with iXAfrica aligns perfectly with our mission to provide cutting-edge training that addresses the evolving needs of the business sector. By equipping professionals with vital skills in data protection, we’re not just shaping careers; we’re contributing to a secure and innovative digital future for Kenya.”

Snehar Shah, CEO of iXAfrica, shared, “iXAfrica is committed to helping enterprises meet their data localization needs, whether by hosting their infrastructure in a secure, high-uptime environment or by facilitating access to hypercloud services locally. This partnership with Moringa School will enable us to educate clients on data protection while furthering the ODPC’s mission to localise sensitive data.”

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, represented by a delegation led by Immaculate Kassait, was also in attendance. Immaculate Kassait commented, “ODPC paid a courtesy call to IX Africa data center. In her remarks, the Data Commissioner noted the efforts put in place to establish an Artificial Intelligence(AI) ready data center and emphasized the need to take into consideration data protection compliance measures. She further congratulated iXAfrica Data Center and Moringa School in their collaboration to train Data Protection Officers (DPO’s) in data protection in light of the dynamic ICT and privacy landscape”