As data centres, cloud services and artificial intelligence become critical to the future of African economies, significant gaps remain in how these systems are understood and reported.
This also comes as Africa Hyperscalers is grappling with what it describes as media blind spots that continue to shape public perceptions, policy debates and investment decisions around the continent’s digital infrastructure.
The pan-African market intelligence and ecosystem platform held a high-level media workshop on digital infrastructure and AI in Lagos, bringing together senior journalists, infrastructure operators and industry experts to enhance coverage of the foundations of Africa’s digital economy. This workshop was held in partnership with Media Training Room (TMTR), Open Access Data Center, and Rack Center.
According to Africa Hyperscalers, digital infrastructure currently underpins everything from fintech and e-commerce to government services and AI innovation, but 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 important to national development as roads, ports and electricity.
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“If Africa is to attract long-term investment and create a credible narrative that supports a sustainable digital economy, the media needs to understand how these systems work and what it will take to make it happen,” Osunrinde said.
Osunrinde noted that weak or inaccurate reporting can distort public debate, complicate policy adjustments and undermine investor confidence in a sector that requires patient capital and regulatory stability.
This workshop was designed as a capacity-building effort to help journalists gain a clearer understanding of the core infrastructure layers, including connectivity, data centres, power, interconnections, cloud, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence on both the economy and the news scene.
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 and raising new questions around ethics, verification, and accountability.
On the infrastructure front, Luck Center Marketing and Communications Director Adebola Adefarati led a session titled “Connectivity: From the Undersea to the Streets,” which analyzed how submarine cables around the world are translated into local internet access and where bottlenecks still exist in Nigeria’s connectivity chain.
Gbenga Adegbiji, Chief Executive Officer of GeniServe, then spoke on building resilient data centers and connectivity infrastructure, highlighting the operational and environmental challenges of operating critical digital facilities in Nigeria.
In another session, Muhammed Rudman, CEO of 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,” Mr. Rudman explained how local peering, traffic routing, and data localization directly impact cost, latency, and digital sovereignty.
The program concluded with a panel discussion on the role of media in enabling digital infrastructure development in Nigeria. CNBC West Africa Bureau Chief Tayo Fagbure appeared. Obinna Adumike, Head of Integrated Infrastructure for Open Access Data Centers. Radman of IXPN. and Mr. Osunrinde of African Hyperscalers. The Committee stressed that responsible and sustainable sector coverage could help improve transparency, align policies and attract investment across the value chain of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
The workshop, hosted by Open Access Data Centres, reflects the growing recognition within the industry that better journalism is not just about telling stories, but is a strategic element for building resilient digital infrastructure and positioning Africa competitively in the global data and AI economy.
