MTN is Africa’s largest telecommunications service company with about 236 million subscribers worldwide spread across 20 countries. Since its entry into the African telecom sector, MTN has continued to provide excellent telecom and value-added services for businesses and individuals, as well as engaging in well-thought-out CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) projects in its host countries of Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, and others.
Subscriber Base and Ecosystem Derivatives
MTN’s number of subscribers across Africa continues to increase daily.
It has more than 54 million subscribers in Nigeria, the most populated African country, and more than 1 million in Congo and more in other countries where it is present.
These numbers represent real benefits for millions of people in these countries, who are connected to this telecom ecosystem and can thus take advantage of linked services spanning business, family life, entertainment, and education.
Job Creation across the Continent
Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market in Africa, accounting for a third of the company’s worldwide revenues.
The company employs a total of 15,900 worldwide. In Nigeria, the figure is 1,800 people directly employed, and many tens of thousands indirectly.
In Congo, the statistics are 300 direct and 10,000 persons indirectly employed.
CSR Projects
Many MTN powered projects across the continent, which touch the education, entertainment, and business sectors, continue to provide sustainable employment for millions of people.
Mobile Money (Transforming Rural Small Businesses)
Mobile Money, is an MTN-offered, cross-border service that can ease payments for goods and services across national boundaries.
It also facilitates cash transfers and general remittance from person to person, across Africa.
Buyers and sellers on the network are able to save millions in reduced business travel expenses, and simultaneously increased their customer base by interacting with other business people on the same MTN ecosystem.
Trans-national African trade has never been this seamless, or as fast, with mobile money until recently that mobile banking is gaining waves in developed areas of Africa such as cities.
“Tap & Pay”, a term unknown in most rural communities across the continent two decades ago, is now a byword amongst small business owners in financially underserved regions across Africa.
From Rwanda to Uganda, and on to Kenya, MTN’s mobile cash remittance service is helping un-banked rural dwellers access global standards financial services on the go, and on time. Payments, receipts, and even short-term credit benefit millions of subscribers.
Since mobile money is a cross-border application, MTN mobile money subscribers can leverage on MTN’s wide reach across Africa, engaging with customers and suppliers across the value-chain in other countries, and increasing both revenues as well as customer base.
The numbers are growing: 40% of adult phone users in Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Tanzania, uses mobile money and same with rural dwellers ― 92% of these areas are still unbanked.
And the impact goes beyond business: 52% of refugees in Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania use mobile money to receive Aid from home, abroad and overseas.
Foreign Capital Inflow (Helping National Economies)
MTN continues to be a major driver of foreign capital to its host countries and communities. In Congo, MTN Congo’s invested capital grew from XAF10 million to XAF11 billion in seven short years; in Nigeria, the company has injected $16 billion into the economy since inception.
MTN also bolsters local educative and entertainment initiatives through direct sponsorship of various television shows and other youth-focused programs. The MTN sponsored shows “Project Fame” and “Who wants to be a millionaire” are cases in point of MTN’s direct intervention in local enterprise.
Mobile Electricity
This is an ambitious MTN-powered project that has the potential of providing large parts of Africa with affordable solar power.
MTN has partnered with solar electric firm Lumos, and the project has been making commendable impact in many parts of Nigeria.
Prospects for the Future
With the MTN Africa team being bolstered by such business titans as Pascal Dozie, who chairs the board of MTN Nigeria (Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market), the sky could very well be said to be the starting point for MTN.
References:
https://qz.com/africa/1039896/m-pesa-mtn-orange-others-lead-africas-mobile-money-revolution/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42092047_The_economic_impact_of_MTN’s_involvement_in_Cameroonhttp://www.mtn-investor.com/mtn_ar08/book1/hwrob_sustainability.html
https://www.africaoutlookmag.com/outlook-features/mtn-congohttps://sites.google.com/a/rwandaeconomy.com/rwanda-economy/products-services/services/mtn-rwanda
https://africanbrains.net/2018/10/09/mtn-uganda-and-mastercard-diversify-mobile-money-services-in-uganda/
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/05/mtn-nigeria-grows-subscriber-base-54-million/amp/
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/injected-16b-nigerian-operations-mtn-group/amp/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTN_Group
https://www.africaoutlookmag.com/outlook-features/mtn-congo
https://qz.com/africa/1039896/m-pesa-mtn-orange-others-lead-africas-mobile-money-revolution