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Artificial intelligence (AI) is potentially the most powerful tool for inclusive growth in Africa, but the continent is in a race against time and must act with urgency to overcome the risk of further inequality and the creation a digital underclass. This is according to the continent’s largest mobile operator MTN Group.

“We must be obsessed and paranoid about not being left behind,” MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita told The Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) Inclusive Growth Forum over the weekend.

He said Africa’s path to inclusive AI required speedy action on six fronts.

Firstly, AI needs more abundant electricity supplies to drive economic growth. The IEA has estimated that Africa’s energy and climate-related goals by 2030 require annual investments of more than US$200 billion. The International Monetary Fund has said that all data centres combined use as much power as some of the world’s largest economies, and data centre power demand may triple by 2030.

As Africa has less than 2% of global data centre capacity, Mupita said it needs to invest heavily in digital infrastructure, beyond investment in fibre and subsea cables. The International Telecommunication Union has said that Africa needs around US$96 billion until 2030 to plug the digital infrastructure capex gap.

Thirdly, Africa needs to speed up the development of its own large language models (LLM) to power AI-driven solutions for its 1.5 billion people. There are more than 2 000 distinct African languages and Mupita said that fewer than 2% of them are supported by mainstream LLMs.

He was building on comments he made in New York in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, when he took up a call to action from Nigeria for MTN Group to support the collection of datasets of African languages, including funding academic research into the continent’s languages.  

This followed the launch of the Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS) – an open-source multilingual LLM designed to understand and generate Nigeria’s diverse voices and create datasets for AI solutions.

Mupita told the KMF gathering that Africa must act with urgency to develop strong digital and AI skills. “This is an opportunity to enable Africa’s rich pipeline of youth, which will make up the world’s largest workforce by 2050,” he said, adding that by 2030, there would be an estimated 230 million digital jobs in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We must ensure that new jobs and augmented jobs are greater than the jobs lost, particularly with the youth divided that Africa will have.”

Calling AI a tool to solve Africa’s unique challenges, particular in high impact sectors, Mupita said Africa needed to combine traditional AI and generative AI for the greatest value across key use cases in key sectors such as healthcare, education and agriculture.

Finally, he said if Africa was to turn its ambition into reality and create – not merely consume – AI, partnerships were essential. “To give African AI initiatives scale and joint success, governments, the private sector and civil society must partner on policy, data governance and skills development. And we must do this without delay.”

With only five years left to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the call for acceleration has never been more urgent. Progress remains uneven across the globe, and Africa in particular faces pressing challenges of inequality, youth unemployment and safety. It is against this backdrop that the UN Global Compact hosted its annual SDG Innovation Accelerator Programme during the United Nations General Assembly, showcasing bold business-led solutions that can help drive faster progress.

Representing South Africa, MTN’s graduate team won top honours and was selected as one of only two African teams to present their innovation at the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit in New York. Their project, an AI-powered solution to protect children online, responds directly to the alarming rise in digital harms, with child sexual abuse material increasing by more than 6000 percent globally and cyberbullying up by 450 percent. The solution is designed to shield children from predators, limit exposure to harmful content and reduce online bullying. It directly advances SDG 16.2 on ending abuse, exploitation and violence against children, while contributing to SDG 3 on health and well-being.

Dr Achieng Ojwang, Executive Director of UN Global Compact South Africa, stressed the importance of momentum. “The SDGs will not be met at the current pace, which is why programmes like the Accelerator are critical. They empower young professionals to create the type of bold, scalable solutions that can fast-track progress. The MTN graduates demonstrated that Africa is not only contributing but leading in tackling issues such as child online safety.”

The project was developed by graduates Lungelo Gwala, Senam Tsormetsri, Ziyanda Thomas and Koketso Kekana. As the youngest participants in the Accelerator, they exemplify the dedication and ingenuity of Africa’s youth. With the support of mentors including Asanda Nkungwana, MTN Group Sustainable Product Development Lead, Lazarus Mosako and Maanda Rashaka the UNGC Mentorship and Coaching team, the team transformed their concept into a viable solution with potential for large-scale impact.

Reflecting on their journey, Lungelo Gwala noted: “The Accelerator gave us the chance to show that African ideas can help accelerate progress on the SDGs. Representing South Africa at the UN reinforced that our generation has the power to shape a safer digital future.” Ziyanda Thomas added: “Being part of a global platform reminded me that  Africa’s voice must not only be heard it must lead. YelloGuard may be a modest innovation today, but its potential to safeguard millions of children across the continent is profound.”

This recognition not only highlights MTN’s commitment to youth empowerment but also underlines Africa’s pivotal role in driving the acceleration needed to achieve the UNSDGs by 2030.

MTN Group has once again been recognised for its leadership in capital markets stakeholder engagement at the 2025 Extel Europe & Emerging EMEA Equities Awards, for executive teams. This survey, compiled independently by Extel, is among the most globally respected measures of corporate performance in Investor Relations, reflecting the feedback of a wide spectrum of institutional investors, analysts and broader capital markets stakeholders.

The 2025 survey for Emerging EMEA specifically drew responses from over 460 voters, nominating 608 individuals from 304 companies. Overall, respondents were up by 14% from last year, with votes weighted across a wide set of performance attributes. These measures included management credibility and leadership, capital allocation, productivity of investor engagements, quality of investor events, granularity of disclosures and ESG metrics; underscoring the robustness of the results as a reflection of market sentiment and perceptions.

Against this rigorous benchmark, MTN was excited to be named Best Corporate in Investor Relations and Best Team in Investor Relations, in the Large Cap EMEA-TMT sector, with the Group also ranked first in the Most Honoured Companies category.

MTN was further distinguished within its sector, ranking first with stakeholders in the EMEA-TMT across eight award categories: Best Company Board, Best CEO – Ralph Mupita, Best CFO – Tsholofelo Molefe, Best Investor Relations Professional – Thato Motlanthe, Best Investor Relations Team, Best Investor Relations Program, Best Investor/Analyst Event and Best ESG Program.

“The work to safeguard and enhance MTN’s reputation with our capital markets stakeholders is a major priority for us. We are humbled by this recognition and grateful to investors and analysts for their continued engagement,” said Tsholofelo Molefe, MTN Group Chief Financial Officer, adding: “These awards are a testament to the hard work of our Investor Relations team and the collaboration across MTN to ensure that we communicate openly, consistently and with integrity. We remain committed to strengthening trust through financial discipline, transparent reporting and constructive dialogue with all our stakeholders.”

“The scope and scale of the Extel survey make the recognition especially meaningful. It is shared with the colleagues across the organisation that we work with every day, and we are deeply appreciative of the confidence placed in MTN by the investment community,” said Thato Motlanthe, MTN Group Executive for Investor Relations. “We will continue to focus on providing clear and timely insights, while listening closely to the perspectives of our stakeholders, as we work to build enduring relationships that support MTN’s long-term success,” he added.

The recognition extends MTN’s consistent record in the Extel Europe & Emerging EMEA Equities Awards and reinforces its standing as a leading African multinational with a sustained reputation for effective capital markets engagement.

MTN Group has taken up a call to action from Nigeria to support the collection of datasets of African languages. These are required to develop the continent’s own large language models (LLM) to power AI-driven solutions for Africa’s 1.5 billion people, who otherwise risk being sidelined by the global AI ecosystem.

Speaking on ‘The Y’ello Chair Vodcast: Your link to the African continent’, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani said that to leapfrog AI in Africa, a collaborative public/private effort was urgently needed to fund the academic research into the continent’s many languages. He challenged MTN Group – which has operations in 16 markets, 15 of them in Africa – to mobilise resources for this.

“We like these kinds of partnerships. Challenge accepted,” said MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita in the vodcast, which was filmed on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. It was hosted by Angela Wamola, who is the head of sub-Saharan Africa for the GSMA mobile industry association.

The vodcast followed the launch of the Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS). This is an open-source multilingual LLM designed to understand and generate Nigeria’s diverse voices, digitising and preserving the country’s linguistic richness and creating datasets for AI solutions.

More than 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country. N-ATLAS is a public/private initiative of the government of Nigeria and Awarri Technologies.

The ATLAS framework is open and available to other African countries, providing a platform for innovation in local languages and in so doing, transform education, health, commerce and governance.

“We have to avoid the risk of Africans being a digital underclass,” Mupita said of the work to ensure that citizens didn’t feel excluded on the continent where there are more than 2 000 languages and most are poorly represented in the global AI ecosystem.

He said the digital economy was the “best bet” to ensure that citizens have dignity, hope and opportunity.

“The outcomes we want are that people are digitally included, economically included and that they have dignity. This dignity point for me is very important because poverty can include all sorts of indignity, but embracing technology should take all that away,” he said.

The Y’ello Chair Vodcast is a platform where leaders and changemakers share insights, challenge norms, and drive Africa’s digital future. For episode 2, see here: https://youtu.be/wmTtjKs5teo?si=3GdEi6VS0tFLYSlT

MTN Group Fintech, Africa’s largest fintech platform, has concluded its inaugural Fintech Summit 2025 in Johannesburg, a landmark three-day gathering that brought together over 350 delegates including policymakers, regulators, innovators, and industry leaders from across the continent.

Under the theme “Take-Off”, the Summit underscored MTN Group Fintech’s vision of driving financial inclusion, supporting small businesses, enabling financial independence, and building digital ecosystems that power Africa’s economic growth.

From Transactions to Transformation

The Fintech Summit reaffirmed that mobile money is central to Africa’s financial inclusion journey. Today, 33% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa use mobile money, with annual transactions surpassing $1.1 trillion and contributing around 5% to the GDP. And with 283 million active accounts, MTN Group Fintech’s Mobile Money (MoMo from MTN) has grown from being one of the central tools for turning these payments into a fully-fledged catalyst for job creation, business growth, and economic resilience.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) were a focal point of discussion. As the backbone of Africa’s economy, digitising MSMEs is key to unlocking credit, improving compliance, and driving wider economic participation. Real-world examples, such as Miriam, a small business owner using MoMo to manage payments, access loans, and expand her operations, illustrate how digital financial tools are empowering entrepreneurs and transforming livelihoods.

“Inclusion becomes sustainable when payments are part of daily life,” said Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech. “Our ambition is to move Africans from being merely financially included to becoming financially independent and ultimately wealthy. Our Mobile Money platform must transform from being a service provider into a platform that delivers best-in-class fintech across Africa.”

Enabling Financial Independence

The Summit highlighted that financial independence goes beyond access to credit. It requires building digital skills, providing tools for savings and investment, and educating people on how to use financial services to create wealth. This vision aligns with MTN’s strategic roadmap to make MoMo a true partner in people’s financial journeys – from the unbanked in rural areas to SMEs in bustling cities.

“We see our responsibility not only as driving inclusion while ensuring the systems we build are trusted, resilient, and sustainable,” said Nikiwe Tanga, Chief Legal Officer, MTN Group Fintech. “This means advancing sound regulatory frameworks, strengthening partnerships with governments and banks, and embedding safety and compliance into every product we deliver.”

Regulation, Innovation, Safety, and Interoperability

A central outcome of the Summit was recognition that Africa’s fintech future depends on striking the right balance between regulation, innovation, safety, and interoperability.

Regulation: The need for harmonised regulatory frameworks across African markets was a recurring theme. Participants emphasised that fragmented rules hinder growth, while consistent standards can create a thriving environment for cross-border remittances, lending, and payment services. Regulators and industry players agreed on the importance of dialogue, transparency, and shared responsibility to build frameworks that encourage innovation while safeguarding users.

Innovation: Innovation must not only focus on  designing solutions relevant to African realities. This includes alternative credit scoring powered by machine learning, AI-driven fraud detection, and the introduction of mini apps to help SMEs access tools for payments, credit, and business management. Innovation was also framed as an enabler of empowerment, giving individuals and businesses greater control of their financial futures.

Safety and Security: Trust remains the foundation of any financial ecosystem. Delegates stressed the need for best-in-class fraud prevention systems, including shared fraud intelligence networks, real-time monitoring, and consumer education. With digital financial services operating around the clock, safety measures must evolve at the same speed as emerging threats. Speakers highlighted that without trust, adoption stalls making security a top priority for MTN Group Fintech and its partners.

Interoperability: Perhaps the most urgent challenge is cross-border integration. Africa remains the most expensive region in the world for sending money due to fragmented currencies and systems. Greater interoperability within Africa as well as global payment networks is essential to reduce costs, expand access, and unlock the full potential of intra-African trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Partnerships between fintechs, banks, telcos, and regulators will be key to breaking down barriers and creating a truly connected African payments ecosystem.

MTN’s Strategic Vision 2030

Looking ahead, MTN Group Fintech is committed to creating seamless digital and financial solutions that empower individuals and businesses to thrive. Central to this ambition is a digital-first strategy that will see the rollout of three dedicated apps for consumers, businesses, and agents, with mini-app ecosystems offering services from credit and savings to business tools and education.

As smartphone penetration accelerates, MTN Group Fintech will balance innovation with inclusion, ensuring that USSD-based services continue to serve millions of customers, particularly in rural areas. Agents will remain critical in bridging the digital divide and supporting literacy and adoption as we realise our 2030 ambitions.

A Clear Call to Action

“The future is calling. The engines are ready. The runway is clear. We are ready for Take-Off,” concluded Serigne Dioum. “Let us rise together, share Africa’s digital future, and inspire the world.”

The MTN Group Fintech Summit 2025 has established itself as a cornerstone platform for Africa’s digital transformation journey. With a clear focus on financial inclusion, SME empowerment, regulatory alignment, and innovation, MoMo from MTN is shaping the future of fintech in Africa, delivering prosperity, independence, and opportunity for all.

MTN Group Exco team building 25 – 26 August 2025

It’s been 10 days since the release of what I consider the best set of MTN financial results in my eight years at the Group, and time for a quick update.

Firstly, I want to thank you all again for your incredible hard work and commitment in the first half of this year which led to the delivery of the amazing results that I was proud to present to stakeholders on the 18th of August.

Every day, I am inspired by the nearly 17, 000 MTNers who work tirelessly across our 16 markets to provide leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. Thank you all so much, you really are making a difference in the lives of Africans.

Since the release of results, Tsholo and I have been on the first leg of our investor roadshow, which takes us across South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. We have concluded the first leg of these meetings in South Africa and met our major shareholders. These meetings have been very good, and we are encouraged by the support we have for our strategy and strong financial results.

In this time, we have also released the first in our new vodcast series called ‘The Y’ello Chair’. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it, please do! In it, I say that with all humility, I think MTN is the most important company on the continent because we are at the forefront of driving digital inclusion which is essential for Africa to develop to its full potential.

Over the past three days, I have been meeting with my colleagues on the Executive Committee, in our first monthly meeting since changes to the Exco – which are effective on 1 November – were announced with results.

As I said at the time, the rationale for the changes was aligned to our strategy as we look beyond 2025 and position MTN for growth over the next three to five years towards 2030. We are on an exciting journey to create three platforms that will power Africa’s digital transformation and growth: Connectivity, Fintech and Digital Infrastructure.

I am most encouraged by the Exco meeting, and how we are moving forward together as a team, all dedicated to the wider Group mission and strategy.

During our off-site gathering, we were privileged to spend time with renowned US presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. A Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 best-selling author, Doris shared her extensive experience (including working in the White House with President Lyndon Johnson) and her vast knowledge of leadership.

She spoke about key leadership qualities as well as various themes. She provided a lot of food for thought.

Among the many valuable takeaways, she spoke about the need for resilience, diversity, agility and knowing when to rest and relax when you are leading in challenging and turbulent times. She also spoke about temperament as an important form of diversity on strong and resilient teams.

After three days with the Exco, I asked for her observations of us as a team. She said: “I’ve never seen such a group of people who were willing to talk to each other…It is a wonderful group of people – strongminded, laughing, hardworking.”

Of course, leadership does not only refer to the Exco – we are all leaders in different ways – and Doris’s enthusiasm was infectious! I would encourage you all to take inspiration from this remarkable 82-year-old and to read her books. (Among my favourites is “Leadership in Turbulent Times”.)

During the Group Exco offsite, we also focused on the transition priorities to 1 November 2025. We will be engaging all who are are affected by these throughout the month of September 2025. Our aim is to ensure a smooth and orderly transition that sets us up for a strong finish to the year as well as a strong start to 2026.

I believe I speak on behalf of all my Exco colleagues when I say that it is a privilege and honour to be in the leadership of Africa’s most important company. Our work is not always easy, but it’s essential and it’s transformative for the people of Africa. We are at the forefront of driving digital and financial inclusion for Africa and changing lives.

We will update you periodically as we are progressing on the transition to 1 November 2025, but if you have any questions in the interim, please send these to your respective group Exco members or message me on “Ask Ralph” on the MTNMove app.

Let’s keep pushing ahead!

Ralph

Why investing in eco-entrepreneurship is the smartest bet for Africa’s resilient future

Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with over 60% of its people under the age of 25. This demographic dividend, if nurtured, has the power to reshape our economies, societies, and planet. Yet, it is also the most vulnerable generation growing up amidst rising food insecurity, climate shocks, water scarcity, and an energy transition that is both urgent and uneven. How Africa responds to these intertwined challenges will define whether this century becomes one of resilience and shared prosperity, or one of exclusion and fragility.

The Africa PachiPanda Challenge, now in its second year, is MTN’s bold response to this reality. This pan-African youth innovation platform empowers eco-entrepreneurs to design solutions at the intersection of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus, the foundation of resilient livelihoods. The theme for 2025, “Nourishing Tomorrow: Innovations for Food, Energy and Water Security”, is not simply a slogan. It is a call to action in a region where:

These numbers are not just statistics. They are daily realities shaping the futures of young people who, paradoxically, are also the ones driving the solutions.

This year, the Challenge expands to five countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Cameroon and, for the first time, Uganda. Uganda’s inclusion is particularly significant. Known as the “Pearl of Africa,” Uganda faces rising climate variability, with floods and droughts threatening agriculture. For Uganda, the Food-Energy-Water nexus is a lived reality, making youth innovation vital for resilience, livelihoods, and inclusive growth.

What makes PachiPanda different is its dual focus: a continental framework that galvanises youth around the FEW Nexus, and local environmental challenge statements that reflect the specific realities of each market. From tackling the impacts of unpredictable weather in Nigeria and pioneering green entrepreneurship in Zambia, to enhancing water conservation in South Africa and developing sustainable energy solutions in Cameroon, and now resilience-driven food and energy solutions in Uganda, the Challenge recognises that solutions must be both scalable and locally rooted.

In 2024, we received 2,484 applications and developed 53 finalists through the in-country programmes. Among the standout innovators, chosen by a distinguished panel of judges for its outstanding scalability and measurable impact, Moses Afopezi of Cameroon claimed first prize for his project AgricFresh, a tech-enabled platform designed to reduce post-harvest loss by professionalising farm management and enhancing market access.

Africa’s youth bring more than energy and ideas. They bring a lived understanding of the problems and a willingness to challenge orthodoxies. With the right enablers, access to knowledge and skills, mentorship, networks, and catalytic funding their innovations can transform not just communities but entire value chains. Just as importantly, enabling policies that promote renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and water conservation will determine whether such solutions remain prototypes or become scaled engines of growth.

At MTN, we believe that technology, connectivity and youth innovation together form the most powerful levers of change. Through PachiPanda, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and others, we are building a platform where ideas can mature into enterprises, and where eco-entrepreneurs can be recognised as leaders of Africa’s green and digital transformation.

This is an investment for a sustainable future that works. By nourishing tomorrow, these young innovators are not only feeding families, powering homes, and conserving water, they are also strengthening Africa’s competitiveness in a world where sustainability is fast becoming a driver of trade, capital flows, and consumer choice.

The inaugural challenge showed us what is possible. The 2025 edition raises the bar: bigger ambition, stronger partnerships, and a sharper focus on the interconnected systems that sustain life. We must listen to these young voices, back their ideas with resources, and integrate their innovations into national and continental development strategies.

Because the truth is simple: if Africa’s youth win, Africa wins. And if Africa wins, the world inherits not only a resilient continent but also a generation that has proven that hope, ingenuity, and courage can indeed nourish tomorrow.

[1] Food and Agriculture Organisation 2022 report

[2] United Nations Sustainable Development 2025

[3] World Economic Forum 2023

By Marina Madale, Executive: Sustainability & Shared Value, MTN Group and Monde Twala, Senior Vice President, Paramount Africa

“The digital world is no longer a place young people visit, it’s where they live.” – Marina Madale

“When we use platforms like MTV to spark difficult conversations, we shift from entertainment to real impact.” – Monde Twala

Last week, MTN and MTV Base launched The Room of Safety with the premiere of its first episode, “Why Internet Safety Matters”—a bold and timely response to the evolving risks and responsibilities facing Africa’s youngest digital citizens. With AI companions on the rise and social feeds curating idealised versions of reality, today’s online experiences are more immersive, personal, and emotionally charged than ever before.

While AI, deepfakes, and virtual influencers may sound like Silicon Valley phenomena, their consequences are playing out daily in African households, often on entry-level smartphones with little adult oversight.

The Invisible Friend on the Other Side of the Screen

Across MTN markets, over 70% of internet users are under the age of 30. In MTN-commissioned research with IPSOS across three African countries, 1 in 3 youth reported interacting with an AI companion, chatbot, or virtual assistant, many for emotional connection, curiosity, or entertainment.

“Young people turn to these AI tools in search of support, validation, even companionship,” explains Monde Twala. “But we must ask, are these systems equipped to deal with emotional complexity, or are they simply mimicking empathy to keep users engaged?”

Twala adds that The Room of Safety was intentionally brought to life through MTV Base, one of the continent’s most influential youth platforms: “We wanted to use a trusted cultural voice not just to entertain, but to educate. These conversations can’t live in policy papers, they need to be in playlists, timelines and conversations with real-life resonance.”

Why It Matters Now

In the first episode, young people reflect on the emotional pressure of navigating online life. “Comparison is the thief of joy. It’s a quote I live by,” shares Yanda Woods in the episode, capturing the silent impact that curated perfection can have on young people’s mental health. Foyin Ogunrombi adds, “The difference between real success and the curated version we see on social media is exactly that—social media is heavily curated.”

In a digital landscape where perfection is the norm and imperfections are hidden, many young users are left feeling inadequate, isolated, and increasingly drawn toward online artificial relationships that don’t always serve their emotional needs.

A 2023 UNICEF study on Child Online Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa found that 47% of adolescents in urban centres had encountered harmful or inappropriate content online, often pushed by opaque algorithms designed for engagement, not care.

Critical Thinking Is Now a Survival Skill

“We’re no longer just teaching digital access—we’re teaching digital discernment,” says Marina Madale. “Today’s youth must know how to ask: Who built this? Why is it suggesting this? Is it helping me, or harvesting me?”

She recalls a question raised: “If an AI bot gives you advice that makes you feel worse, is it your fault for listening?” It’s a troubling thought, but one that reflects the confusion many young users face when lines between real and artificial support are blurred.

The Room of Safety encourages not just awareness, but self-inquiry, empowering youth to approach digital platforms with more confidence, agency, and understanding.

One Simple Act That Could Save a Life

One of the most powerful takeaways from Episode 1 is the reminder that you are enough, even without the filter. In a world that constantly measures worth through likes, follows, and curated perfection, the ability to believe in yourself, without needing external validation, is a radical act of self-preservation.

TheRoom of Safety encourages young people to turn inward for affirmation and to trust their instincts, rather than relying on AI companions or online approval to feel seen. Building self-worth from within is not easy, but it is essential, and often begins with honest conversations, not with machines, but with real people: a teacher, a caregiver, a sibling, a friend.

To support this, MTN’s campaign includes direct links to mental health services, child protection resources, and regional helplines across its markets. These are not just add-ons, they are lifelines.

A New Digital Mandate for Africa

With the youngest and fastest-growing online population in the world, Africa faces a pivotal moment. The task ahead is not just to connect, but to protect. The Room of Safety is a rallying cry, not to fear technology, but to shape it with intention and empathy.

“When platforms like MTV are used to spark difficult conversations, we move from passive awareness to real impact,” says Monde Twala. “This campaign is about creating spaces that are not only engaging, but safe and transformative.”

Marina Madale concludes, “The same technology that threatens can also be used to empower, if we give our children the tools to engage with it wisely. The Room of Safety is just the beginning of that journey.”

The next episode will explore cyberbullying, where to draw the line between banter and harm, and how to speak up when it matters most.

Until then, we are left with a question:

If a young person is turning to a chatbot to feel seen, will the digital world they find be a bridge, or a blindfold?

The answer may shape the next generation of Africa’s digital future.

Some 13 000km of new roads could be built with the R52.7 billion of total tax contributed (TTC) by MTN Group to the revenue authorities across the continent in 2024. Of this, MTN contributed R11.7 billion in Ghana, R9.1 billion in Nigeria, R6.4 billion in Uganda and R5.4 billion in South Africa.

These funds include the direct corporate taxes we pay, indirect taxes, operating licence fees, payroll taxes, property rates, dividend taxes and withholding taxes to these governments, as well as those to the revenue authorities across our other 12 markets.

“Using a ballpark figure of around R4 million as the cost to build one kilometre of road, our total tax contribution in the year is the equivalent of building more than 13 000km of roads,” said MTN Group Chief Financial Officer Tsholo Molefe.

Of course, governments could use the taxes we contribute for a wide range of purposes besides investing in infrastructure. This could include employing doctors, nurses and teachers; providing welfare support to the elderly and very young; buying medicines for rural clinics as well as food and learning materials for pre-schools, not to mention various other public services.

“Our tax contribution is key to our licence to operate, as well as to our reputation as a responsible, compliant corporate citizen,” said Molefe, adding that MTN’s pledge to pay its fair share of taxes supports the strong relationships it has with customers, communities and governments.

It also helps its host countries attract foreign direct investment by supporting greater business environment predictability, in turn creating jobs and stimulating economic activity.

MTN’s Tax Transparency Report is released every year as part of the Group’s suite of annual reports. It details MTN’s overall economic contribution beyond the corporate taxes it pays. It also outlines the evolving tax environment across the world and in Africa and discusses MTN’s approach to tax and its tax governance. It gives MTN’s TTC by market, as well as its effective tax rates.

The numbers show that MTN’s West and Central Africa (WECA#) region accounted for 52.8% of the independently assured TTC number in 2024. Nigeria made up 17.3%; the Southern and East Africa (SEA^) region accounted for 17.1%; and MTN’s contribution in South Africa was 10.2% of the TTC.

“We are humbled that the taxes we pay contribute to accelerating Africa’s digital future and to giving Africans hope, dignity and opportunity,” said Molefe. “We invite stakeholders to read our Tax Transparency Report for information on one of the ways we do this, in addition to our primary activity of providing Africans with the essential services required to communicate.”

For our 2024 Tax Transparency Report, please see MTN Group’s 2024 suite of reports

#WECA region – Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Congo-Brazzaville and Liberia.

^SEA region – Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, South Sudan, Botswana (joint venture, equity accounted) and eSwatini (joint venture, equity accounted)

In November 2024, MTN South Africa launched the Icon 5G smartphone, priced at R2,499 (about $138). Designed to make high-speed internet affordable to underserved populations, the launch was not just a nod to corporate social responsibility (CSR); it was also a strategic move to tap into an underutilised market of digital users. As Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the least connected regions globally, efforts like this highlight how CSR and business growth are increasingly intertwined in the telecom sector.

For MTN, CSR has become an entrenched means of ensuring long-term sustainability and profitability by creating shared value for communities and stakeholders. Understanding stakeholder priorities and measuring community impact has become central to this approach.

Telecommunications companies like MTN are now operating in an environment where connectivity is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. According to the GSMA’s 2023 report, closing the digital use gap in Africa could generate up to $3.5 trillion for the global economy by 2030. Yet, barriers remain—including in terms of cost, infrastructure, and digital skills—holding back the sector’s growth potential.

The fundamental question facing companies operating on the continent is: how do we combine economic performance with real social impact? For MTN, this balance is now an intrinsic feature of its African operating model.

This balance between purpose and profit manifests differently across MTN’s markets, with each country CEO adapting community development strategies to local needs. Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, who previously served as CEO of MTN Cameroon and now leads MTN Côte d’Ivoire as CEO, exemplifies this localised approach. The MTN Foundation’s systematic community investment model underpins much of this work: “It’s funded every single year by 1% of our profits, and with that 1% of profits, we have three primary areas of focus. One, of course, is education. We also have focused around women empowerment,” she explains. Beyond traditional CSR, her market-specific strategies have seen MTN build a mobile money merchant network of over 300,000 in Côte d’Ivoire alone, with women representing a significant portion of these digital entrepreneurs—demonstrating how targeted community programmes can drive both social impact and business growth

Affordable technology: Preparing the customers of tomorrow

The Icon 5G smartphone addresses one of the major obstacles to connectivity in Africa: affordability. By offering this terminal at a competitive price, MTN demonstrates its in-depth understanding of long-term growth dynamics. By democratizing access to 5G, the operator anticipates the emergence of a new generation of users for its high-speed networks.

Stephen Blewett, Managing Director of MTN Ghana, explains that connectivity fosters economic inclusion: affordable equipment is a gateway to digital ecosystems, and every new user represents an opportunity for growth for MTN – whether through mobile money, e-commerce or other digital services.

This is in line with the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which aims to strengthen growth in the digital and financial services sectors through targeted investments and increased customer engagement.

Education: developing digital skills and literacy

Among the most ambitious community development projects is the Digital Hub, a $25 million project currently under construction in Ghana. Ultimately, this technology hub will train more than 200,000 people in digital skills and create more than 100,000 jobs in three years. It will offer state-of-the-art workspaces to support the growth of local tech and promote the emergence of a digital ecosystem in the health, agriculture and education sectors.

However, faced with the massive challenge of youth employment in Africa — more than 200 million young people, the majority of whom have no training or skilled employment — the issue goes far beyond that of infrastructure. The emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence further accentuates the urgency to act.

This project embodies a model that can be replicated across MTN’s different markets. The MTN Foundation has already supported more than 90 educational projects: ICT and robotics centres, classrooms, dormitories, scholarships, etc.

Watch: Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, of CEO MTN Côte d’Ivoire talks about MTN’s support for young entrepreneurs building Africa’s digital future.

However, the issue of scale remains. The launch in 2022 of the Skills Academy in Zambia offers an extensible model, with training in digital and financial literacy. The economic argument is clear: better equipping communities means strengthening customer relations.

Health: between social utility and growth drivers

Health is another area where business strategy and community engagement come together effectively. The MTN Foundation has invested in 55 health projects, including health centres, maternity wards, blood banks, medical equipment and awareness campaigns.

These interventions address critical needs while positioning MTN as a trusted player in the field of public health. By illustrating the usefulness of digital infrastructures in access to care, they also pave the way for strengthened partnerships with governments and NGOs.

Mobile clinics and prevention campaigns have played a key role during health crises, highlighting MTN’s growing role as a provider of essential services.

Sustainability: Reconciling environmental commitment and operational efficiency

MTN has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040 — a bold ambition, but based on a strong economic rationale. More than 3,000 solar-powered sites have already been deployed, reducing both the carbon footprint and long-term operational costs.

MTN’s sustainability strategy is not limited to climate. It also helps to strengthen the resilience of its operations. By reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, the company frees itself from fluctuations in the energy markets and guarantees the continuity of its services in difficult contexts.

Policy Advocacy: Protecting Infrastructure for Growth

In November 2024, Google’s Charles Murito advocated for fiber optic cables to be considered critical infrastructure — an initiative supported by MTN. Theft and vandalism of facilities remain major threats, generating additional costs and compromising the quality of services.

The strengthening of the regulatory framework benefits the entire sector, while ensuring the sustainability of investments and customer loyalty through an increased quality of service.

Measuring impact: from responsibility to accountability

MTN’s social commitment is reflected in a rigorous impact measurement policy. The company has 166 projects in the fields of health and education, with more than 4.5 million direct and indirect beneficiaries. These figures illustrate not only a civic commitment, but also the economic and social impact of its actions.

However, measuring the long-term impact remains complex. Programs such as mobile clinics or solar infrastructure require constant monitoring and funding to ensure their sustainability.

Challenges to be addressed

Despite these successes, some questions remain:

A balance between economic performance and social impact

From accessible smartphones to educational hubs and healthcare projects, MTN’s CSR initiatives demonstrate the ability of telecom operators to reconcile social transformation and economic performance. By expanding their customer base and forging lasting partnerships, these companies strengthen their brand equity while exploring new growth drivers.

By responsibly addressing systemic challenges, MTN is setting a sector benchmark and charting a path to an inclusive, connected and prosperous Africa. Integrating community development into business strategy is, more than ever, a viable model for growth in emerging markets.

Sources:
GSMA – The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2024
GSMA – The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2023
Matsh – Youth Employment Statistics in Africa (2023)
World Bank – Africa Overview (2024)
MTN.com

Published on Jeune Afrique 20 July 2025: The role of telecoms in community development: CSR that goes beyond connectivity