The era of simply connecting Africa to the grid is over. The next decade will be about what the continent does with that connection.
That’s the core message from Airtel Africa’s CEO, Sunil Taldar, who delivered a keynote address at MWC25 Kigali. Taldar, who heads the telecommunications and mobile money provider operating across 14 African countries, argued that the industry is at a major inflection point, shifting “from merely connecting people to enabling them to create value through such connections.”
“Africa’s digital decade has begun,” Taldar declared. “The continent that once leapfrogged into mobile telephony is now ready to leap again – into an era where every byte of data fuels productivity and every connection builds prosperity.”
Taldar’s big push is for a move “from access to productivity.” But he stressed this isn’t something telcos can do alone. He called for a massive, ecosystem-wide partnership—”between operators who co-build, technology manufactures who equip, regulators who enable, investors who believe, tax regimes which support and young Africans who create.”
The goal of this collaboration, he said, is to “build a continent where data is processed locally, talent is nurtured nationally, and innovation is scaled globally.”
To power this future, Taldar highlighted two critical technological pillars: Artificial Intelligence and a robust network of data centers.
“Africa’s digital future needs AI to make networks smarter and greener, customer experiences more intuitive and mobile money more secure and intuitive,” he explained. He also emphasized the need for “a connected network of data centres linked by high-capacity fibre to unlock inclusive digital participation even in remote regions.”
Taldar stated that Airtel Africa is already investing heavily in this vision, with “major data-centre hubs in Nigeria and Kenya” currently in development. The company is also actively “deploying AI in operations, including SMS spam detection, customer onboarding, mobile money fraud detection and sites’ energy optimisation.”
The speech set the tone for this year’s MWC25, an annual gathering in Kigali, Rwanda, for the industry’s top leaders, innovators, and policymakers. The event’s entire focus is on how connectivity and digital technologies are accelerating Africa’s transformation.
Taldar’s call for collaboration was echoed by Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, who officially opened the event. Kagame noted that Africa has already transformed from a continent of “limited connectivity to a mobile-driven economy in a few years.”
“While the challenges that Africa faces are significant, they also offer great growth potential if we collaborate,” President Kagame said. He urged governments, the private sector, and other partners to “harmonise policies and create the right environment for innovation.”
Kagame’s vision includes enabling “data and payment systems to flow securely across borders” to better connect the continent’s economies.
“The future we must build,” Kagame concluded, “is an Africa that is bold, connected and competitive.”
