Africa Hyperscalers takes on media blind spot in data centres, connectivity, AI reporting

As data centres, cloud services and artificial intelligence become critical to Africa’s economic future, a major gap remains in how these systems are understood and reported.

This is even as Africa Hyperscalers is addressing what it describes as a media blind spot that continues to shape public perception, policy debates and investment decisions around the continent’s digital infrastructure.

The pan-African market-intelligence and ecosystem platform convened a high-level Media Workshop on Digital Infrastructure and AI in Lagos, bringing together senior journalists, infrastructure operators and industry experts to strengthen reporting on the foundations of Africa’s digital economy. The workshop was organised in partnership with The Media Training Room (TMTR), Open Access Data Centres and Rack Centre.

According to Africa Hyperscalers, while digital infrastructure now underpins everything from fintech and e-commerce to government services and AI innovation, coverage of the sector often lacks depth, technical context and long-term perspective.

Temitope Osunrinde, executive director of Africa Hyperscalers said digital infrastructure is now as critical to national development as roads, ports and power.

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“If Africa is to shape credible narratives that attract long-term investment and support sustainable digital economies, the media must understand how these systems work and what it takes to deliver them,” Osunrinde stated.

Osunrinde noted that weak or inaccurate reporting can distort public discourse, complicate policy coordination and undermine investor confidence in a sector that requires patient capital and regulatory stability.

The workshop was designed as a capacity-building initiative to equip journalists with a clearer understanding of core infrastructure layers, including connectivity, data centres, power, interconnection and cloud, as well as the growing influence of artificial intelligence on both the economy and newsroom practice.

A dedicated session on ethical and professional news reporting in the age of AI, led by Toni Kan, founder of The Media Training Room and publisher of ThisIsLagos.ng, examined how AI tools are reshaping journalism, raising new questions around ethics, verification and accountability.

On the infrastructure side, Adebola Adefarati, head of marketing and communications at Rack Centre, led a session titled “Connectivity: From Subsea to the Street,” breaking down how global undersea cables translate into local internet access and where bottlenecks still exist in Nigeria’s connectivity chain.

This was followed by Gbenga Adegbiji, chief executive officer of Geniserve, who spoke on building resilient data centres and connectivity infrastructure, highlighting the operational and environmental challenges of running critical digital facilities in Nigeria.

In another session, Muhammed Rudman, chief executive officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), addressed what he called common misconceptions about how the internet works locally. In “What You Don’t Know About the Internet in Nigeria,” Rudman explained how local peering, traffic routing and data localisation directly affect cost, latency and digital sovereignty.

The programme concluded with a panel discussion on the media’s role in enabling digital infrastructure development in Nigeria, featuring Tayo Fagbule, West Africa bureau chief at CNBC; Obinna Adumike, head of converged infrastructure at Open Access Data Centres; Rudman of IXPN; and Osunrinde of Africa Hyperscalers. The panel stressed that responsible, sustained sector coverage can help improve transparency, align policy and attract investment across Nigeria’s digital infrastructure value chain.

The workshop, reflects a growing recognition within the industry that better journalism is not just about storytelling, but a strategic component in building resilient digital infrastructure and positioning Africa competitively in the global data and AI economy.