When it comes to data, MTN has a problem. While it is selling more of it, it is also under pressure to slash the cost of providing access to the Internet. A solution may lay in financial services.
As part of an ambitious reform programme, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed plans to award telecommunications licences to two private operators next year, and sell a minority stake in Ethio Telecom.
MTN Group has hired another top executive from Vodacom Group, saying on Wednesday that is has appointed Yolanda Cuba as its new chief digital and fintech officer.
Communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has welcomed the first meeting of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as a step towards achieving its objectives.
MTN Group’s biggest shareholder is pushing for changes at Africa’s largest mobile phone company to avoid the regulatory, legal and political disputes that have cut its share price by more than half over the past four years.
MTN Group has identified Ethiopia as a rare country where Africa’s largest wireless carrier will consider expanding beyond its existing footprint.
MTN Group had 236.6 million subscribers on its books at the end of its financial first quarter, to 31 March 2019, up from 232.6 million at the end of December.
MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter was paid R42.9-million in the financial year ended 31 December 2018, up from R40.6-million in 2017, while other top executives were also handsomely rewarded.
MTN Group has announced it will launch an instant messaging service akin to China’s WeChat and Facebook’s WhatsApp as it seeks to expand revenue from digital services and mobile money.
MTN Group shares soared by 18.1% on Thursday after Africa’s biggest wireless carrier started a R15-billion disposal plan to shore up the balance sheet.