Close

Category: Events

Uto Ukpanah, MTN Nigeria Company Secretary

In her role as MTN Nigeria Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah has utilised her broad-based corporate experience in providing guidance and direction on operational governance within MTN Nigeria Group of entities. She is a legal practitioner, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and a Certified Ethics Officer, Ethics Institute/University of Stellenbosch.

Uto has been involved in the development and implementation of corporate governance codes across various sectors in Nigeria as well as global best practice guidelines driven by the United Nations Global Compact. Uto who represents MTN Nigeria on the Board of United Nations Global Compact Local Network; has been widely acknowledged as an advocate of business ethics, for safeguarding corporate integrity as well as promoting sustainable business strategies. Uto is responsible for embedding and implementing ESG at MTN Nigeria – ESG is at the core of MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy. She strongly believes in the integration of economic, environmental, and social objectives into corporate goals, activities, and planning, enabling long-term and shared value for the Company, its stakeholders, and the wider society.

Prior to joining MTN Nigeria, she had a fulfilling career in financial services and legal practice.

An alumnus of the Lagos Business School, she also serves on several boards across various sectors. She is a recipient of several awards and was recently honoured as the Company Secretary of the Year 2021 at the ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards. She is a Member of several professional bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Ethics & Compliance Officers Association, USA. She sits on the Council of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN).

She treasures her role as a wife and mother.

Ralph Mupita, MTN Group President and CEO

Ralph Mupita is the President and CEO of MTN Group, a position he has held since the 1st September 2020, having recently served as the MTN Group’s Chief Financial Officer since April 2017. Prior to joining MTN, Ralph served as the Chief Executive Officer for Old Mutual Emerging Markets, providing financial service solutions to individuals and corporates across 19 countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Under his leadership, the Insurance Group’s Emerging Market business serviced over 19 million customers and had R1 trillion of assets under management.

Ralph is a seasoned business leader with experience in engineering, construction, financial services, and telecommunications. Since joining MTN, Ralph has played a pivotal role in the strengthening the Group’s financial position, strategy pivot, and successful listing on the Nigerian and Ghanaian Stock Exchanges.

Ralph serves as a Non-Executive Director on several MTN subsidiary Board and the Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI). He also serves as an executive Board member of the International Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Harvard Business School Africa Advisory Board. Ralph is a Commissioner on the United Nations Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development and a Champion of the World Economic Forum EDISON Alliance.

Ralph holds an MBA and BSc Engineering Hons degree from University of Cape Town and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School General Management Programme.

Ralph is passionate about the African continent and the role that mobile operators can play in driving sustainable digital and financial inclusion through fit-for-purpose solutions.

Anne Githuku-Shongwe, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa

Anne Githuku-Shongwe is the Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa. She has 20 years of experience as a senior international development professional, including with the United Nations Development Programme, across Africa and in management consulting in the United States of America.

Her last post was as the Representative for UN Women’s South Africa multicountry office, which is responsible for women’s empowerment and gender equality in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

Ms Githuku-Shongwe is an award-winning social entrepreneur and founder of AROES, a digital and gamification learning enterprise, and is a thought leader on the future of learning.  

Ms Githuku-Shongwe and AFROES have received multiple awards, including the prestigious Schwab Foundation/World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 award and a national award, the Order of the Grand Warrior, from the President of Kenya.

She is an author and contributor to several books, including The write to speak: a collection of stories by African women leaders, Kenya@50 and Turning a crisis into an opportunity: the HIV response in Lesotho. She is also a board member and grand juror of the World Summit Awards for the United Nations Information Society and a former Global Ambassador of the Vital Voices leadership programme.

She has a masters degree in international development from the American University, a certificate in social innovation from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, a certificate in the art of large-scale systems change for social entrepreneurship from Harvard University and a management certificate from Jones International University.

Paul Norman, MTN Group Chief HR Officer

Paul Norman is the Group Chief Human Resources Officer at MTN Group. He has been an executive at MTN since 1997. He is a member of the Group Exco and has played a key role in MTN’s evolution from a single country business to a global business.

Paul has a Masters degree in Psychology from Rhodes University and also graduated from IMD in Switzerland with an MBA. He is a qualified Psychologist and before moving into Industry, he ran his own private practise.

As an HR professional Paul has positioned MTN as an employer of choice across all its markets. In 2003 Paul was also awarded HR Practitioner of the Year by the Institute for People Management (IPM). In 2012 he was recognised by the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), with the Lifetime Achievement Award. According to SABPP, the award was in acknowledgment of his great contribution to the advancement of the Human Resources profession, not only in South Africa, but across MTN’s countries of operation.


He serves as a director on several of MTN’s Subsidiary Boards. He has also established various entrepreneurial ventures in the food, motor, and alternative energy sectors. 

Titilope Fakude, MTN Liberia Chief Information Officer

Passionate and inspiring leader with strong IT skills targets Mobile Money potential…

Titi Fakuade worked with MTN for 14 years and will mark two years in the position of Chief Information Officer in March 2021.

Previous roles include Senior Manager for Intelligent Network & VAS Planning, where she was responsible for the design, planning and optimisation of the Intelligent Network & VAS network, deployment of value-added services and other third-party applications. Her strengths include Strategy, Execution Excellence and Capacity Development. She is adept at Adding Value and Results Oriented.

Throughout her 19-year career she gained extensive experience in strategy, telecoms, and IT leadership along with execution excellence across Nigeria and Liberia. Her ability to transition various roles, coupled with a ‘no limits’ mindset, has stood her in good stead during the crisis.

The strong information technology professional graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, with MBA from University of Wales, studied Digital Disruption at IMD Business School and Sustainable Business Strategy at Harvard Business School Online in 2019.

Agness Phiri , UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, Partnership Specialist

Agnes Utunga Phiri is a Strategic Partnerships Specialist with over 25 years’ experience. Currently working with the UN Women South Africa Multi-Country, Agnes has had a long-term career with the United Nations and Private Sector. 

She has worked on development issues such as Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Utilising ICT to address Gender Based Violence and Maternity Protection for Informal Workers.  Agnes has coordinated, co-edited and produced Case Studies and publications to amplify advocacy aimed to mobilize stakeholders to address challenging development issues such as Gender Equality; HIV/AIDS; ICT for Development, Good Governance and Human Rights.

She has conceptualised and organised high level regional campaigns to engage private sector on issues such ending violence against women and girls and Women Economic Empowerment. Agnes has served on a voluntary and non-remunerated,  on a number of non-for-profit Boards that promote issues of  Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS in an advisory capacity.  She was part of the historic UN Observer Mission contingent to monitor the first South Africa Democratic Elections in 1994 and she is a Cherie Blair Foundation Mentee Alumni (2016-2017).

Malik Melamu, MTN Sudan Chief Executive Officer

Malik Melamu is the MTN Sudan Chief Executive Officer and has held this position since 1st April 2016, he previously served as MTN Benin Chief Executive Officer. He is a seasoned business leader with extensive experience in in the banking and telecommunications industry.

During his tenture at MTN, Malik has played a pivotal role in keeping the MTN Sudan business running in a hyperinflation environment, whilst ensuring the people of Sudan enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life.

Malik serves as a Chairman of the board at Kgori Capital and a Non-Executive director of The Ethics Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Laws – LLB from the University of Botswana, a certificate in Managerial Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science, Certificate in Strategic Innovation from Oxford University Said Business School, and completed Executive Development Program at University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.

Malik is passionate about the development of emerging markets in Africa and driving sustainable digital and financial solutions.

Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs officer

Nompilo Morafo is the Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs officer of the MTN Group, effective 1 February 2022, having joined MTN as Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in December 2018. Nompilo is responsible for the creation of shared value and the integration of Environmental, Social and Governances (ESG) practices at the core of MTN’s business. Her responsibilities include the management  of MTN’s reputation, through coordination of sustainability, corporate communication, stakeholder engagement and Corporate Social Investment (CSI) across its footprint.

She is a seasoned corporate affairs and sustainability executive having served as Country Director for Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development at LafargeHolcim. Prior to that Nompilo was Vice President for Country Management and Public Affairs for Sasol’s International Exploration and Production business in Mozambique.

Nompilo holds a B Tech Degree from the  (Tshwane University , a National Diploma in Business Communication from Pretoria Technikon),  a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Practices from Henley Business School) as well as  Management of Managers Development Programme from the Gordon Institute of Business Science

Her experience in corporate affairs, country management and sustainability spans more than 20 years in sectors including financial services, mining, oil and gas and now telecommunications.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has joined MTN in pledging to commit to a Road to Zero strategy and committing to realising a Net Zero carbon emission future by 2040.  MTN has called on partners including Ericsson to work together to setting science-based targets to reach  a Net Zero future together.

A key aspect of MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy is to create shared value in a sustainable manner through responsible Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. By leveraging Ericsson’s latest and most advanced sustainable technologies, MTN will be in a better position to realize its energy use and carbon management efforts in line with its commitment to reach Net Zero emissions by 2040.

Climate action is imperative to secure future socio-economic development in Africa., This initiative will see MTN and Ericsson work together to support economic growth and development in an environmentally responsible way. Through the pledge, Ericsson and MTN will also support several UN Sustainable Development Goals and play an important role in helping realize the 1.5-degree global warming goal set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Nicolas Blixell, Vice President, and Head of Global Customer Unit at Ericsson Middle East and Africa says: “At Ericsson, we strive for collaboration in everything we do. Understanding that we cannot achieve a Net Zero world alone, we endeavor to form strategic partnerships across sectors, industries, and markets.  By signing this pledge with MTN and collaborating to provision our advanced sustainable cellular technologies, we are demonstrating our commitment towards forming partnerships where limitless connectivity improves lives, redefines business and pioneers a sustainable future.”

Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer said: “It’s about doing for tomorrow, today – realizing a Net Zero future is critical to our commitments towards sustainability, and we know that we can only realise our ambition through collaboration with our partners. With Ericsson joining our pledge, we hope to inspire our other partners, the telecommunications industry and other stakeholders to take meaningful steps towards decarbonization.”

The shift towards sustainability requires examining how we use resources. Currently, only 8.6 per cent of the material we use forms part of the circular economy. This means less than 10 per cent of the material used in the world in a year is recycled or reused in some way. Ericsson has also pledged to contribute towards MTN’s circular economy, which is an imperative part of the Road to Zero pledge aimed at driving Reducing, Reusing and Recycling of equipment.

Being a sustainability pioneer in the telecom industry for many decades, Ericsson has continually focused efforts on enhancing the circular economy and realising climate action goals. As a member of the 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders initiative, Ericsson is also driving exponential climate action across global supply chains, supporting net-zero goals and the pledge. Through its commitment to science-based climate goals spanning several operations across its value chain, reducing impact in its own operations and products in use, and in its continued investment in the circular economy through initiatives such as the product take-back and e-waste management programs, Ericsson remains determined to help the telecom sector leave a lighter environmental footprint on the planet.

MTN Group and Rakuten Symphony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conduct live 4G and 5G OpenRAN Proof of Concept (PoC) trials in South Africa, Nigeria, and Liberia based on Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). RCP assists telcos worldwide with the deployment of fully cloud-native network services.

The trials, which will start in 2022, combine RCP OpenRAN technology with advanced automation and autonomous network capabilities with one of Africa’s top brownfield operators.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Rakuten Symphony to deploy live 4G and 5G OpenRAN trials across South Africa, Nigeria, and Liberia. In line with our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life, we are committed to actively driving the rapid expansion of affordable 4G and 5G coverage across markets in Africa,” said Mazen Mroue, MTN Group Chief Technology & Information Systems Officer. “We have announced our support towards the deployment of OpenRAN technology in 2021 to modernise our radio access network footprint. Through this partnership we hope to target innovation and cost efficiencies that will enable us to continue delivering an exceptional customer experience.”

The solutions, currently deployed by Rakuten Mobile in Japan, include cloud orchestration, Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) and automation of radio site commissioning and network integration.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our partnership with MTN,” said Rabih Dabboussi, Chief Revenue Officer of Rakuten Symphony. “This PoC will demonstrate how one of the world’s top-tier brownfield mobile operators can utilise Rakuten Symphony’s network automation and orchestration solutions for cost-effective network transformation and timely deployment of next-generation network services to their customers across Africa.”

Rakuten Mobile has set multiple industry landmarks with its full-scale launch of commercial services on the world’s first fully virtualized cloud-native mobile network*1 in 2020, and Rakuten Symphony, launched in 2021, is now bringing that technology to operators globally. Rakuten Symphony brings together Rakuten’s telco products, services, and solutions under a single global banner to offer 4G and 5G infrastructure and platform solutions to customers worldwide.

In line with MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, this MoU will enable the launch of new services more quickly, cost-effectively, and seamlessly.

MTN and Rakuten Symphony will be collaborating with Accenture and Tech Mahindra to conduct the trials in South Africa, Nigeria and Liberia.

Communications Media and Technology Lead for Africa Nitesh Singh said “As one of the leading professional services firms in technology and networks in particular it is an exciting time in the industry for all parties on the OpenRan journey. In line with MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 of leading digital solutions for Africa, we are excited to be part of the partnership with both Rakuten and MTN to ultimately pass these benefits on to MTN’s consumers in the market”.

President of Communication, Media and Entertainment (CME) and Chief Executive of Network Services in Tech Mahindra, Manish Vyas said, “Communication Service Providers today are increasingly focused on 5G network modernisation. As a leading provider of networks of the future, it is our mission to be a trusted transformation partner for operators globally. We bring in deep expertise in integrating OpenRAN sub-systems and enabling end-to-end transformation through planning, designing, testing, deployment, and operationalisation. This collaboration will enable MTN’s OpenRAN transformation program and will deliver benefits of disruptive Open RAN architecture to consumers and enterprises in Africa.”

Note:

*1 For a large scale commercial mobile network (as of October 1, 2019). Research: Stella Associa

* The company names, product and service names in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Hip-hop star and Grammy Award-winning producer Khaled Mohamed Khaled, aka DJ Khaled, on Wednesday added his voice to MTN Group’s efforts to raise awareness about the importance of wearing masks to fight the spread of COVID-19.

“DJ Khaled and MTN want you to know that we want you to wear your mask out there; it is so important,” the rapper and social media celebrity said in a video clip posted to his 21,5 million Instagram followers. In a message he felt was vital for Africa as well as for the rest of the world, he said: “If you love yourself, you love your family…if you love the WORLD, you will wear a mask.”

Wearing face coverings remains one of the most effective measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. However, many people refuse to wear them, wear them incorrectly or still underestimate their importance.

 DJ Khaled, whose participation was enabled by his management company Roc Nation, urged everyone to get involved: “Tag somebody that you love so that they can wear their mask…I’m gonna wear mine; you gonna wear yours and we will make this world better, safer…and we are gonna come out this stronger, wiser and more powerful! MTN, DJ Khaled. One love.”

 Earlier this month, MTN Group launched its #WearItForMe campaign, encouraging customers and the public at large not to be complacent, to wear their masks to protect themselves, and to protect and respect others.

#WearItForMe runs throughout September. Spread the message, not the virus. Visit www.wearitfor.me to send a message to someone to encourage them to do the right thing.

MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter to speak on investing in digital for inclusive growth in the 4th Industrial Revolution at WEF, Davos 2019

Johannesburg – MTN is participating in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meetings taking place from 22—25 January 2019 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. This highly anticipated yearly gathering of the world’s top leaders from politics, business, civil society and academia, typically recaps major developments on the global landscape and sets the agenda for impactful conversations in all sectors. The WEF Davos 2019 theme is Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Rob Shuter, MTN Group CEO, will contribute to a series of high-level panel topics, including the establishment of a single African market under the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) agreement and accelerating investment to support universal access to broadband. In addition, MTN will elaborate on thoughts about how the company is working towards reducing the digital divide and increasing financial inclusion.

With 220 million customers across 21 countries, MTN is one of the largest emerging market telecommunications groups in the world. MTN is widely recognised as a private sector thought leader on how the private sector can provide winnable solutions that will promote low-cost digital services for all and incentivise investment to achieve inclusive growth by exploring alternative business models. A top priority for the company is to provide mobile financial services to 60 million MTN customers by 2020, with a strategic goal of doubling broadband connectivity by 2021, and universal service by 2030.

Mr. Shuter said: “With the youthful population in Africa being born digital, and mobile devices and networks being at the heart of the digital revolution on our continent, the 4th Industrial Revolution gives the continent an opportunity to leverage our assets to leapfrog development and economic growth. We must invest in the future and be prepared. MTN understands that investing in digital does not only make financial sense, it will be the life blood that sustains us all as we move towards the 4th Industrial Revolution.”

WEF Davos 2019 is premised on the need to address global uncertainty, international economic and political tensions. The agenda will cover several topical areas, including economic policies, human capital, industry systems, cybersecurity and institutional reform. South Africa will be represented by a sizeable delegation which will make the strong case for investing in the country as one of the world’s “Hot Emerging Market Economies” by mobilising public-private collaboration for inclusive growth and development.

– Issued by MTN Group Regulatory and Corporate Affairs