The pan-African operator is ramping up its Microsoft collaboration, pairing AI-driven Microsoft 365 tools for consumers with an Azure rebuild of its analytics platform

Africa’s biggest mobile operator MTN Group plans to introduce Microsoft 365 with Copilot to its customers from early 2026, in a move the company claims will broaden access to AI-driven learning and productivity tools across the continent. 

However, MTN has not yet specified which markets will be included in the first wave of the rollout, nor has it detailed what governance measures will underpin what it describes as “responsible AI”. The announcement coincides with MTN passing 300 million customers and forms part of the operator’s push to shift from basic connectivity to wider digital participation.

“Africa’s growth will increasingly be shaped by how effectively its people can participate in the digital world,” said MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita (above). “This new collaboration strengthens that trajectory. Working together, we will open new pathways for innovation and opportunity that will define the continent’s next phase of progress.”

The service will include Microsoft’s security features like phishing protection and continuous device-level monitoring. MTN argues that pairing its scale and local insight with Microsoft’s technology expertise will help bridge skills gaps across its markets.

Samer Abu-Ltaif, president for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “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.”

The announcement was light on detail around whether lucky customers would pay more to receive Microsoft’s AI tool. The Australian regulator recently commenced proceedings in that country’s Federal Court against Microsoft for allegedly misleading approximately 2.7 million Australian customers when communicating subscription options and price increases, after it integrated its AI assistant, Copilot, into Microsoft 365 plans. 

Enterprise analytics

The consumer-focused AI launch builds on another Microsoft development announced on 31 October: the full migration of MTN South Africa’s Enterprise Value Analytics platform to Microsoft Azure. Now operating as EVA 3.0, the cloud-based system processes around 22 billion records a day and supports more than 800 analytics workflows. MTN calls it the largest telco cloud implementation in the Middle East and Africa. 

The move also underpins MTN’s preparations for broader AI use across the organisation, linking internal real-time intelligence capabilities with future customer-facing AI services.

According to the operator, the shift to Azure Databricks and Microsoft Defender has delivered major improvements in processing speed and security. “With EVA 3.0, we’re expanding those capabilities – analysing information more quickly, applying intelligence more effectively, and safeguarding it through advanced cloud security,” said MTN Group CIO Nikos Angelopoulos.

At the time, Microsoft said the project shows how cloud-based analytics and AI can support network resilience, customer experience enhancements and new service development for telcos.

MTN’s Cloud Centre of Excellence and a group-wide engineering network have together achieved more than 1,350 Microsoft Azure certifications, which the company claims is the highest total of any organisation in Africa. The EVA 3.0 deployment is expected to serve as a template for further data-modernisation work across MTN’s markets.