MTN partners with Microsoft to bring AI tools to millions across Africa

The Pan-Africa telecoms company has teamed up with Microsoft to roll out AI-powered productivity and learning tools to millions of users across the continent, marking a major step in the continent’s shift from basic connectivity to full digital participation.

By ICT Journal.Africa Reporter

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita says the Microsoft partnership will help equip Africa’s youth with essential AI skills for the future.

For years, Africa’s digital rise has been defined by one central question: how quickly can the continent transform simple connectivity into real opportunity?

With its young population, fast-growing tech adoption and hunger for new skills, the next chapter of Africa’s digital story hinges not just on access to the internet, but on access to the tools that shape modern work and learning.

In a move that positions the continent for that next phase, MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile operator, has announced a far-reaching partnership with Microsoft to bring AI-powered productivity and learning tools closer to millions of Africans.

The announcement comes as MTN celebrates a historic milestone of 300 million customers across Africa and the Middle East, which reinforces the scale at which this collaboration could shift digital participation on the continent.

Through the partnership, the giant telco’s users in selected markets will gain access to Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI assistant designed to simplify everyday tasks, spark creativity and make digital tools more accessible, even for first-time or low-skilled technology users. The rollout will also integrate Microsoft’s advanced security protections, helping safeguard users from phishing, data breaches and rising cyberthreats.

Ralph Mupita, MTN Group President and CEO, has celebrated the partnership as arriving at a defining moment for Africa’s economic future.

“Africa’s growth will increasingly be shaped by how effectively its people can participate in the digital economy. Africa is a young continent, and by 2040 will have the largest working population in the world. To ensure that this youth dividend yields positively, AI skills and capabilities will be essential. Our partnership with Microsoft strengthens that trajectory,” he said.

MTN and Microsoft are no strangers to collaboration. Over the past decade, they have partnered in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Côte d'Ivoire on cloud modernisation, cybersecurity training, data-centre expansion and digital-skills development. This new agreement is an escalation of those efforts, turning AI access into a mainstream offering rather than a specialised service.

Samer Abu-Ltaif, Microsoft President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, emphasised that the collaboration blends MTN’s local reach with Microsoft’s global innovation power.

“Our collaboration with MTN reflects our shared goal to enable people to learn, create, and participate meaningfully in the digital economy. By bringing Copilot to millions of MTN customers, we are helping unlock new opportunities for learning and innovation across Africa,” he said.

The phased rollout begins in early 2026, expanding to additional MTN markets thereafter.

For MTN, the initiative also aligns with its long-term strategy to embed AI into its network and services, enabling practical solutions that boost inclusion, raise digital skills and support socioeconomic growth across the continent.