TowerXchange Meetup Africa is the only annual touchpoint for the continent's telecom tower ecosystem, and the ultimate place to hear from and engage with industry stakeholders.
Gain unparalleled access to the latest industry trends, developments and strategies that are shaping the dynamics of Africa’s connectivity landscape. Join us to build new relationships, unlock opportunities and stay ahead of the curve.
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The only time Africa’s telecom tower ecosystem comes together under one roof
Unparalleled networking opportunities with the who’s who of African towers
Understand the challenges, opportunities and strategic direaction of major towercos in the region
Join interactive workshops and roundtables to solve challenges and help shape the future of Africa’s tower industry
Hear from industry leaders across a broad spectrum of topics; technology and operations, finance and M&A, strategy and new business and so much more
Meetup Africa is partnering with sister brands ITW and Datacloud to connect you with Africa’s entire digital infrastructure ecosystem, from the core to the edge
In 2024, Meetup Africa for the first time ran alongside sister brands ITW and Datacloud Africa. We are taking the next step forward with a vision to bring all of Africa’s digital infrastructure under one roof in 2025 to give you a view from the top, from core to edge, across the entire infrastructure value chain.
The tower industry has faced significant economic headwinds, even if they are now easing. Currency devaluation, supply chain disruptions, and rising operational costs have pushed towercos and MNOs to innovate on technology and explore new relationship dynamics. We’re seeing a trend towards more flexible pricing models, including volume-based and inflation-linked pricing, to help share risks and incentivise customers.
Power remains the single biggest operational challenge and cost driver for the industry in Africa. With unreliable grids and continued focus on sustainability, towercos are investing heavily in alternative power solutions. Solar PV is gaining traction, with companies like TowerCo of Africa aiming to solarize up to 60% of their sites. The industry is also exploring AI-driven energy management systems to optimise power consumption across different generations of mobile technology.
A recurring theme throughout the Meetup was the need for greater collaboration between towercos, MNOs, and governments. This should include: earlier and more open communication about future network needs; following best practice approaches to address rural connectivity challenges; engaging with governments to create proinvestment policies and streamline permitting processes; and enabling new partnership models, including JVs, equity stakes and deeper network planning partnerships.
Towercos are increasingly looking to diversify their offerings even while they prioritise capex on macro towers. This includes: expansion into fibre infrastructure where complimentary to existing sites; preparations for data, switching and processing moving to the edge; offering new power-as-a-service solutions; and exploring opportunities in small cells and in-building solutions.
The importance of data analytics and AI in optimising tower operations was emphasized by multiple speakers. Towercos are investing in cleaning up their remote monitoring systems and working with customers to create useable data. The aim is to enable predictive maintenance and AI-driven workflow optimisation. This shift towards data-driven operations is seen as crucial for improving efficiency, reducing costs, and meeting the evolving needs of MNOs.
"As a towerco operating in Africa & Middle East, TowerXchange is the main industry conference we attend. It enables a very efficient networking with our customers, mobile operators, other towercos and every part of the value chain. We enjoy connecting with partners, potential suppliers, looking at new technology, what new products are coming up to improve site performance & business operations in general. I have been coming to TowerXchange since the first one back in 2013"
Tom Greenwood, CEO, HELIOS TOWERS
"At TowerXchange Meetup Africa we see the multitude of industries from banking, vendors, towercos, and also adjacent industries like power supply, fibre, data centre; and gave us lot of ideas how to leverage our assets and found solutions which might be able to reduce our OPEX and grow our revenue. TowerXchange is a bible of towerco activities across Africa, a big source of information, lots of insights from our competition from different countries."
Stephane Beuvelet, CEO, TOWERCO OF AFRICA
"SBA is a big fan & supporter of TowerXchange, we view the Meetups as an opportunity not only to meet a lot of people in the industry, but also to follow the latest trends and to learn about new products that are coming to the market and support our business. It is a wonderful opportunity to network and learn more about what’s coming in the future for the tower industry"
Nick Van Slyck, Vice President Africa & Asia, SBA COMMUNICATIONS
