Economic Sustainability

The telecommunications sector contributes significantly to gross domestic product (GDP) in many emerging market countries, with MTN making a specific material impact in Africa and the Middle East. For a review of the social and economic impact of mobile phones, please refer to the case study on the website. In evaluating our economic sustainability performance, it is important to consider the various impacts our activities have on the broader community, including opportunities for education, employment and our role as an engine for broader economic growth within the regions in which we operate.

Our subscriber base continued to grow substantially during the year under review. At 31 December 2008, the group had 90,7 million subscribers across our 21 operations, an increase of 48% on the previous year.

Our level of capital investment reflects our commitment to the countries in which we operate. In 2008, this reached R28,3 billion, an 84% increase over capital investment in 2007.

Our sustainability performance at a glance

Economic and governance structures - progress against targets

What we said we'd do	What we've achieved	What we need to improve
Conduct an annual reputation review that addresses our expanding group and harnesses the value of local initiatives and stakeholder engagement processes.	The group evaluated available tools and methodologies for rolling out a comprehensive reputation review. In late 2008 a phased approach was accepted. Phase 1 comprises internal exploration of the value of reputation management. Informed by phase 1, phase 2 will focus on external perceptions.	Roll out the review in Q1 of 2009 (phase 2 could roll out in June/July 2009).
Expand the use of whistleblowing in the group. Confirm best tools for receiving, recording and reporting whistleblowing for all 21 operations.	Group BRM have contracted with Deloitte SA to operate the whistleblower facility for all operations. Roll out is currently at 50% with 100% planned by Q309 of 2009.	Complete whistleblower roll out and improve marketing of facility to all staff to ensure that it is used correctly.
MTN South Africa will focus increasingly on enterprise development by fostering a culture of black business support, with specific emphasis on companies owned by black women.	MTN South Africa's black economic empowerment (BEE) expenditure in 2008 was R5,3 billion. The available base of entrepreneurial businesses owned by black women has not increased significantly. Accordingly, MTN has been unable to increase its support of these businesses significantly during the year.	Continue to pursue increased expenditure with companies owned and managed by black women.
Cement the sustainability management framework. Confirm performance indicators and lines of responsibility for operational sustainability reporting and management. Conduct reviews of sustainability framework compliance and performance data gathering.	Recommendations of the Sustainability Best Practice Research were endorsed by the executive and risk and compliance committees in mid-2008. Implementation of recommendations, including the recruitment of a group sustainability manager, began in November 2008.	Roll out education and information programme on sustainability, MTN’s policy and performance to ensure thorough group-wide understanding of the policy and management framework.
MTN Group will use electronic sustainability data collection tools to improve the quality of data collected and achieve greater and more tangible assurance on sustainability performance.	Data collection tool in place. Rather than customisation to multiple languages, core sustainability performance data were confirmed for reporting in English.	Confirm resources at operations level to record data consistently.
Further embed the culture of risk management across operations and refine risk reporting.	All operations have risk management structures in place.