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MTN joins JAC and GeSI to accelerate sustainability across its supply chain

30 April 2021

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MTN joins JAC and GeSI to accelerate sustainability across its supply chain

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Group is pleased to announce that it has joined the Joint Audit Cooperation (JAC) and the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), two globally recognised industry bodies committed to promoting technologies and practices that foster environmental, social and governance sustainability.

These memberships are a vital step in the realisation of MTN’s sustainability vision of creating shared value for our stakeholders through responsible economic, environmental and social practices.  

“As the leading operator in many of our markets, we recognise that in partnering with JAC and GeSI we have a significant opportunity to contribute to the collective agenda of driving greater adoption of sustainable environmental and social practices across our supply chain and the sector. This is how we realise the outcomes we aim for in placing ESG at the core,” says MTN Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Nompilo Morafo.

Telecommunications is a rapidly changing industry, vibrant with emerging technologies and competitive disruptors that are altering established business models and creating new sustainability-related opportunities and risks.

MTN Group Executive for Procurement & Supply Chain Management Dirk Karl says: “We recognise the unique blend of know-how that these two well-established bodies bring. In joining, we are able to verify the sustainability performance levels of our top 20 suppliers and their sub suppliers who have already been audited. The memberships also provide a platform to further enhance the audit coverage across our supplier base.”

Members of JAC – which was founded in 2010 and whose members include many of the world’s largest telecoms operators – share resources and best practices to develop long-term corporate social responsibility implementation in the different tiers of the ICT supply chain globally. Collaboration between the largest operators promotes sustainable sourcing globally.

“On behalf of JAC and its member companies, we are very pleased to welcome MTN on-board with us and look forward to working together. This provides us with further diversity from African and Middle Eastern continents in our collaboration on making progress on supply chain sustainability topics and issues,” says Paras Shah, JAC Chairman.

GeSI works to facilitate real-world solutions to real-world issues by contributing towards a sustainable future, communicating the industry’s corporate responsibility efforts and driving the sustainability agenda.

“GeSI’s mission is to help create a smarter, more sustainable world with digital solutions at its core,” said Luis Neves, Global CEO of GeSI. “We are thrilled to have a company like MTN, a leader in its industry sector and region, join us as a Member. Their engagement reinforces GeSI’s work to harness innovative digital solutions as a force for good as we commit to the 2030 Agenda. We look forward to a long partnership with MTN.”

MTN strives to always conduct business in a way that supports the long-term sustainability of the societies in which we operate. To meet these objectives, we conduct business with suppliers and partners who share our commitment to high ethical standards and operate in a responsible manner.

To provide our customers with the products and services they need, MTN relies on a multi-faceted and multi-layered global supply chain, which consists of approximately 15 000 suppliers. Not many telcos – particularly pan-African telcos – are members of both JAC and GeSI. By becoming a member of both organisations, MTN can ensure ethical, sustainable, environmentally responsible supply chain partners.

MTN Group bids for telecoms licence in Ethiopia

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Group confirms that it is participating with equity partners in a bid for a telecoms licence in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most-populous country which represents the last and largest telco liberalisation opportunity in the world.

Our participation is aligned with our strategy, Ambition 2025, focusing on capturing growth from digital acceleration across the continent. It has been made in partnership with Silk Road Fund from China. Other partners will be disclosed on a successful bid outcome.

“Ethiopia provides the largest telecommunication and digital services growth opportunity in Africa over the medium term and fits into our pan-Africa focus and platform strategy. We are being guided by our capital allocation framework in our assessment of this opportunity,” commented MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita, in confirming the MTN and Silk Road Fund equity partnership bid.

MTN has a long history of building and operating market-leading operations in numerous markets across Africa and the Middle East, including establishing greenfield operations. At the end of 2020, MTN Group had 280 million subscribers across 21 markets.

MTN Group publishes 2020 Integrated, Sustainability, Transparency and Tax Reports

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Group today publishes our suite of 2020 reports – including the Integrated, Sustainability, Transparency and Tax Reports – covering how the Group performed in the year and how we delivered on our commitments to stakeholders.

“2020 was unprecedented in the challenges and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic created across the markets we operate in. In the year, the Group focused on building resilience and sustainability and positioning the business for accelerated growth given the digital acceleration occasioned by the pandemic,” comments MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas.

The reports detail the impact of COVID-19 on our markets and business; the Group’s support to stakeholders in these challenging times; our work to manage the risks of pandemic; and our plans to make the most of the opportunities. These factors played a part in shaping MTN Group’s repositioned strategy, Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, which is detailed throughout our reports.

MTN Group’s 2020 Integrated Report tells the MTN value-creation story clearly and concisely, reflecting integrated thinking. Enhancements to the report this year include a thorough discussion on the new strategy, as well as dedicated sections on COVID-19, the Group’s outlook and our key issues.

Under the new Ambition 2025 strategy, one of the Group’s four priorities is to ‘create shared value’, with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles at the core.

“COVID-19 has exacerbated underlying economic and social inequalities and is unfolding at the same time as a mounting climate crisis. As a result, instilling sound ESG principles is fundamental to building resilience and ensuring that MTN is future-fit and plays its role in building sustainable societies,” says MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita. “Diversity and inclusion are important aspects of future sustainable societies and although we have made good progress with greater representation of women at senior levels in the company, there is still a lot of work to do.”

The Sustainability Report details our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2040, as well as the naming of Nkululeko Sowazi, chair of the MTN Group Social and Ethics Committee, as the MTN Group designated Board member responsible for ensuring climate risks and opportunities are appropriately addressed within the company.

In 2020, MTN Group advanced digital and financial inclusion by reducing by a third the cost to communicate and enabling over $152 billion of transactions through extending Mobile Money services for customers and small and medium enterprises.

By investing nearly R29 billion in the year, we extended network coverage to more people. We also connected more of the unconnected through MTN Data-Smart’s digital literacy initiative. Available in eight African markets, this has now been used to train more than 18 million people about the power of the internet.

On 1 April, three women entered key leadership roles at MTN Board and Executive Committee level, helping the Group reach a milestone of 33% women at Board level and 28% at Exco level, both above African and global averages.

Through our CSI efforts, in 2020 MTN impacted 23,8 million people, of whom 10,5 million were youth, providing them with the ICT skills and opportunities to help them become economically active.

Our Transparency Report seeks to provide an understanding of our operating environment, risks and approach to digital human rights across our footprint.

In many of the countries in which the Group operates, MTN is one of the largest taxpayers. This comes with the responsibility to report thoroughly and transparently on our tax affairs. MTN Group’s 2020 Tax Report spells out our total tax contribution, which goes well beyond the corporate income taxes paid on profits to include indirect taxes, withholding taxes, payroll taxes, operating licence fees and other payments to authorities.

In 2020, MTN Group’s total tax contribution was R35,1 billion, up from R30,5 billion in 2019. This was just one of the ways the Group contributed to enhancing sustainable societies.

“We believe that this suite of reports will provide stakeholders with a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the progress and achievements of the MTN Group, as well as the priorities over the short, medium and longer term,” concludes Mupita. To access reports: https://www.mtn.com/investors/financial-reporting/integrated-reports/

MTN Rwandacell PLC to list by introduction on Rwanda Stock Exchange

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Rwandacell Plc (MTN Rwanda) is pleased to announce that it will list on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) on 4 May 2021.  

This announcement follows the approval by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) of MTN Rwanda’s listing by introduction on the RSE and the approval of Crystal Telecom’s (CTL) shareholders to distribute the 20% of MTN Rwanda’s shareholding held by CTL to CTL shareholders effective from the listing date.

The listing of MTN Rwanda will see 1,350,886,600 ordinary shares with a nominal value of Rwf 1 each being registered with the RSE at an initial listing price of Rwf269 per ordinary share. CTL shareholders will become direct shareholders in MTN Rwanda and be able to trade their MTN Rwanda shares on the RSE.

Commenting on the announcement, Mitwa Ng’ambi, CEO of MTN Rwanda, said: “The official listing of MTN Rwanda’s shares on the RSE will take place on 4 May 2021. We look forward to participating in the capital markets of Rwanda and see this as an exciting opportunity for the investor community at large to participate directly in the ownership of MTN Rwanda. We are also excited to welcome former CTL shareholders as MTN Rwanda shareholders.”

CMA Executive Director Eric Bundugu noted: “We welcome MTN Rwanda’s listing by introduction on the RSE as a demonstration of an international company local investors can continue to participate in as well as being an attraction to foreign investors into the Rwandan capital market. The listing will also continue to provide liquidity for existing and future shareholders.”

Iza Irame, CTL’s CEO, said: “We are happy to see this important transaction materialize. It will allow our shareholders to retain their economic interest in MTN Rwanda while gaining from the efficiency and visibility that comes with direct ownership.”

Celestin Rwabukumba, CEO of the RSE, said: “MTN Rwanda joining the RSE list of companies is a great and welcome development for our market as it increases our market capitalization. The company being of a good size adds on the number of leading brands to our Exchange and offers more visibility into the company’s operations to shareholders and the general investing public, which in turn should trigger more interest from potential new investors going forward.”

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita called the listing a milestone: “Enabling Rwandans the opportunity to participate in the company’s success is part of our work to promote local ownership and participation in MTN businesses across our markets, and to create shared value.” He added that the listing was particularly significant given the increasing importance of broadband access in driving economic and industrial development across Africa.

More information about the listing and investor relations can be found at www.mtn.co.rw/investors. To learn more about MTN Rwanda and its various initiatives, visit www.mtn.co.rw.

Update on banking channel partners’ dispute and expansion of channel network

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

Following the temporary suspension of sales of MTN products through our banking channel partners on April 2, 2021, services were restored on Sunday, April 4, 2021 with customers able to access all services. This was agreed on the basis that MTN would revert to its previous cost of sales structures with banking partners, until a new long-term agreement can be reached on a sustainable pricing structure going forward.

Consequent on the intervention of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Nigeria Communication Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, since April 6, 2021, MTN has been participating in a series of meetings to align on longer term pricing structures. We will provide a further market update once these discussions have been concluded. The streamlining MTN undertook is international standard and best practice as scale is built along distribution channels. We are confident that partners in the banking sector will work with us to ensure this process concludes as quickly as possible to the benefit of the entire industry.

MTN would like to thank our customers for their patience, and express our regret at the inconvenience imposed on them while banking channels were offline. In order to further expand the range of channels available to customers, MTN has activated a number of new channel partnerships with fintech partners and these will remain in place, significantly expanding the channels available to our customers and increasing our sales and distribution network.

The new channel partners include Sparkle, Konga Pay, Barter By Flutter Wave, Jumia Pay, OPay, Kuda, Carbon, BillsnPay, MTN On Demand, MTN Xtratime airtime loans (*606#), myMTN Web http://mymtn.com.ng and Momo agent *223#.

We would also like to thank the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the Nigeria Communication Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria for their rapid intervention and we look forward to a mutually acceptable solution that empowers all ecosystem participants.

National Treasury appoints MTN as new mobile communication provider to Government

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN is proud to announce that National Treasury RT15 bid evaluation committee has appointed MTN SA as a service provider to government, through its new mobile communication services contract, known as RT15-2021. The RT15 2021 Transversal contract allows for all entities of state to utilise the contract for mobile communication services, which will further assist with cost containment.

The scale of the government’s requirements has allowed MTN to develop industry-leading systems and innovative pricing and products that will not only add value to the state but will also significantly improve on existing mobile telecommunications service delivery, while also allowing for a high degree of control of spend by the individual entities.

Godfrey Motsa, the Chief Executive Office of MTN South Africa, said he and his executive team are proud to accept the call to serve the country, through the provision of these vital services. “We are both humbled and honoured by the faith National Treasury has shown in MTN with this critical partnership over a five-year term. A huge team at MTN spent months analysing the state’s requirements and then developing the very best solutions to not only meet those expectations, but to exceed them,” Motsa said. “We were delighted with the very positive reaction from the RT15-2021 bid committee to our service offerings and we are so proud that a company that is South African to its very core, will be delivering to our entities of state.”

Independent tests have, in recent years, consistently shown MTN to unequivocally hold the Best Network in South Africa title and the reach and quality of the MTN network has been an important contributor to the award, but more can be achieved for the people of South Africa. The allocation of the temporary spectrum by the telecommunications regulator, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, showed the power and agility that lies with the purposeful allocation of additional spectrum. With the temporary spectrum, MTN has been able to zero-rate over a thousand health and education websites, expand its reach into underserved communities and further boost its quality in high density areas.

“The allocation of permanent spectrum will see government services and officials, through the RT15 contract, being important beneficiaries of the spectrum’s immediate value through further enhancements to MTN’s superior network, expanded reach into currently underserved communities and further quality gains in all parts of the country – which is why we are anxious to support any moves to mediate a solution to the current spectrum delays,” Motsa said.

Wanda Matandela the Chief Enterprise Officer at MTN SA said the scale and scope of RT15 makes this both critical and fascinating.

“In addition to mobile devices, accessories and value-added services, there are vital operations that must be maintained, such as air operations, the needs of the special task force, sea, rail, satellite and other critical functions. We at MTN are deeply encouraged by the responsiveness of the bid committee to our solutions and we look forward to serving our state, as part of the panel of service providers to government, with cost-effective and quality solutions that will help facilitate its work in serving the people of South Africa,” he said. For details on the transversal contact and what it means to government departments, please visit the National Treasury website at: http://www.treasury.gov.za/divisions/ocpo/ostb/contracts/default.aspx

MTN GlobalConnect in the Spotlight

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

Africa’s connectivity relies on strategic and global partnerships continually coming together to make a difference.  In 2017, MTN GlobalConnect started partnering across the African continent and around the globe with leading carriers, hyperscalers, and telecom service providers to further African connectivity.

MTN GlobalConnect is a digital wholesale and infrastructure services company and an operating company in the MTN Group. Leading the journey is CEO Frédéric Schepens, who is driven by the ambition to build up Africa. The company has been turning a profit from the first year and is continually evolving to build the much-needed infrastructure stitching African countries together and connecting them to the rest of the world. Our agenda remains true to the MTN belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected world.

Digital connectivity fosters growth, and digital services are data hungry. The best way to secure these applications is to invest in the needed infrastructure on a national and regional level. We are on a mission to connect the unconnected utilising our portfolio of fixed connectivity and wholesale mobility services. The end-to-end fixed connectivity services range from subsea cables, cable landing stations, data centres to inter-country and cross-country fibre networks. To date the company has signed 4 cross-border fibre contracts and rolled out 2,050 km of fibre in Zambia. Our existing fibre network is over 100,000km of which 85,000 km is full proprietary. That is approximately 14 times the distance between Cape Town and Cairo. Another 10,000km is being built. Wholesale mobility services range from voice, interconnect, messaging, value-added services to roaming services.

Fast forward 30 years to 2050, and Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to more than 1 billion people with 50% under the age of 25 years according to the World Bank. Sub-Saharan is also the world’s largest free trade area. According to a GSMA prediction we will have 623m mobile subscribers in 2025 compared to 456m in 2018. We need to provide the infrastructure they’ll need in the future to live a modern connected life, NOW. It takes bold steps!

Wherever you are in the world, MTN GlobalConnect is well positioned as a partner of scale with a single-entry doorway into the most significant network infrastructure in Africa. The foundation of your partnership is one single contract accompanied by a Service Level Agreement.

Among the assets available to a potential partner is the global MTN.net IP/MPLS network. It leverages 47 multinational points of presence across 29 countries in the Middle East & Africa. In addition to our fibre footprint, you have access to over 3Tbps of backbone capacity, multinational Network-to-network interfaces and peering with major content providers. For mobility and value-added services, you can access any of the Y’elloConnect Hubs for Messaging, Voice, Signaling and Roaming.

Travel underwater and you have access to a portfolio of 15 submarine cables with the latest 2Africa in joint build due in 2023/4. 2Africa subsea cable is one of the largest subsea projects in the world, connecting 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The 2Africa subsea cable is significant to Africa – a continent that has historically been behind the global average in internet penetration. We have direct Tier 1 level investments in the WACS and ACE cables on the west coast of Africa, and EIG and EASSy cables on the east. We have substantial indirect investments in cables such as AAE-1 SMW5 on the north east coast of Africa connecting to Europe, and TEAMS on the east coast among others. MTN owns and operates 4 subsea cable landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and South Africa.

The pandemic has taught us the importance of human capital, highlighted the value, and accelerated the demand for digital connectivity. Embracing 2021, the wholesale and infrastructure eco-system continues to be agile, highly responsive while building a more resilient network. When it comes to Africa, growth favours the bold so let’s grow together. #GoodTogether #GrowTogether #GrowAfrica

Global Sourcing and Supply Chain recognizes suppliers for demonstrating commitment and excellence

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

The Global Sourcing and Supply Chain (GSSC) division of MTN Group has hosted its second Supplier Awards event to recognise suppliers and partners for their hard work and delivery of exceptional services across the MTN footprint.

This year’s virtual event, hosted by Group Executive and Chief Procurement office, Dirk Karl, was centred around three key pillars – Innovation, Collaboration and Excellence.

“As we reflect on 2020, and the challenges presented by the spread of COVID-19, I would particularly like to commend our suppliers and partners on their agility and resilience, that ensured uninterrupted service to the MTN Group. It is only through strong partnerships and the support of dependable suppliers that MTN can ensure that everyone has the benefits of a modern connected life,” says Dirk.

MTN Group COO – Jens Schulte-Bockum joined the session where he congratulated the supplier partners and shared MTN’s recently announced Ambition 2025 plan with them. Group Chief Technology and Information Officer Charles Molapisi and Executive Group Consumer Enzo Scarcella –also delivered MTN’s plan around Ambition 2025. They also called out to all the supplier partners for their continuous support and commitment to deliver on MTN’s belief i.e. everyone deserves the benefit of a modern connected life. Verizon’s Chief Sustainability Officer, James Gowen, also attended the session, speaking on sustainable supply chain.

16 winners across nine categories were announced:

2020 Rise & Shine Award – recognizes our Rising Star Supplier for 2020:

  • Winner – Dell Technologies

2020 Digital Excellence Award: Most supportive of GSSC digital transformation:

  • Winner – Oracle

2020 Most Collaborative Supplier Award: Most responsive and supportive through the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • Technology Category Winner – Ericsson
  • Commercial Category Winner – Mobicel

2020 Outstanding Quality & Delivery Performance: Best performance in delivery, support, performance, quality and risk:

  • Technology Category Winner –FLYTXT
  • Commercial Category Winner – ZTE

 2020 Commercial Excellence Award: Best provider of competitive pricing and costing transparency:

  • Technology Category Winner –Tecnotree
  • Commercial Category Winner – Valid

2020 Best Account Management Performance Award: Best account management support, flexibility and ease of doing business, including, timely reporting:

  • Technology Category Winner – Huawei
  • Commercial Category Winner – IDEMIA

 2020 Supplier Innovation Award:  Most innovative and solutions driven supplier, who demonstrates and shares best practice:

  • Technology Category Winner – Tarana represented by United Wireless
  • Commercial Category Winner – Thales

2020 Performance Excellence Award : Most consistent in terms of delivery throughout the year:

  • Technology Category Winner – Ericsson
  • Commercial Category Winner – Omnicom Group

2020 Supplier of the Year: Best overall performer across several metrics, including quality, delivery & support, account management, performance and innovation:

  • Technology Category Winner – Deloitte
  • Commercial Category Winner – Valid

MTN congratulates all the winners of the GSSC supplier awards and looks forward to greater collaboration and partnership as we focus on our intent to provide leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.

Resilient MTN reports strong 2020 results, unveils Ambition 2025 strategy

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Group today reported a very strong set of operational and financial results for 2020, displaying business resilience under COVID-19 pressures and a challenging macroeconomic environment. Africa’s leading mobile operator also announced its re-positioned strategy – Ambition 2025 – to accelerate growth and unlock the value of its infrastructure assets and platforms.

The Group added 29 million subscribers in the year, to reach a total of 280 million across 21 markets. It reported a 52% increase in adjusted headline earnings per share, a four-percentage point increase in return on equity to 17% and a more than doubling in operating cashflow to R28,3 billion.

“We continued to perform favourably against our medium-term targets,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita. “In constant currency terms, service revenue grew 11,9% to R170 billion and EBITDA increased by 13,4%, maintaining our strong operating leverage. The Group’s EBITDA margin improved by 0,9pp to 42,7%, benefiting from the execution of our expense efficiency programme.”

 The solid results were supported by pleasing growth in MTN’s larger operations as well as a broad-based improvement across all regions.

The Group continued to prioritise the health and safety of its people and mourned the loss of 10 MTN employees to COVID-19, after reporting a total of 1 404 infections in the period to the end of February 2021.

“We are pleased to have made a $25 million donation in support of the African Union’s programme to secure much-needed COVID-19 vaccines,” said Ralph. “This partnership deepens MTN’s role in the ongoing work to save lives in the markets in which we operate. Importantly, it aligns with our ambition to create shared value and ensure the continent’s future progress and prosperity.”

As well as managing the risks of COVID-19, the Group remains alive to the opportunities presented by the pandemic, particularly the accelerated need for digitalisation evidenced in the greater adoption and usage of MTN services. In 2020, MTN added 19 million data users and almost 12 million MoMo users, to reach totals of over 114 million and 46 million respectively. The Group’s networks remained well-invested, with capex of R28,6 billion in 2020 and headroom to accommodate growth of more than 110% in data traffic in the year.

In the near-term, MTN is focused on de-leveraging the holding company and it reduced net debt by R12 billion, to R43 billion. The leverage ratio for the year, however, remained flat at 2,2x as cash upstreaming from Nigeria remained challenged. MTN concluded R4,3 billion of realisations of its asset realisation programme (ARP) and remains focused on completing some of its larger transactions, which did not proceed in the year due to challenging market conditions.

In this regard, MTN suspended the final dividend for 2020 due its near-term focus on faster de-leveraging of its holding company as well as three conditions which negatively impacted this objective. These related to uncertainties around cash upstreaming from Nigeria, the timing of ARP proceeds and COVID-19 impacts.

“In light of these material uncertainties, the Board has also suspended the dividend policy and anticipates communicating a revised medium-term dividend policy when we announce our 2021 results in March 2022,” said Ralph.

During this transition, the Board anticipates paying a total ordinary dividend of at least 260 cents per share for the 2021 financial year. Ralph added, “on assessment of the progress of cash upstreaming from Nigeria, ARP delivery and COVID-19 impacts, the Board will consider returning further cash to shareholders in the form of special dividends or share repurchases after the release of 2021 results.”

MTN also announced a revised strategy. “Further to our previous announcement regarding our intention to focus on our pan-Africa strategy, we completed a comprehensive strategy review in Q4 2020 and are excited to introduce ‘Ambition 2025’,” he said. “As part of this strategic repositioning, we are looking to structurally separate our infrastructure assets and platforms, such as fintech, to reveal value and attract third-party capital and partnerships into these businesses, over the medium-term.”

“Going forward, we believe that Ambition 2025 will position the business to capture the exciting opportunities across our markets and our medium-term guidance has been enhanced to reflect this accelerating growth outlook. To support this, we plan to invest approximately R29,1 billion in our network, fintech and digital services platforms in 2021.”

MTN Group appoints new executive to drive its strategic repositioning

Posted on by amogelangmaluleka

MTN Group today announced the appointment of Chika Ekeji as Executive: Strategy and Transformation as part of plans to further bolster management capacity to accelerate the Group’s strategic ambitions.

Effective 15 March 2021, Chika joins Africa’s leading mobile operator from management consultancy McKinsey & Company in Nigeria, where he led the West Africa Digital Practice and served telco, financial services, and public sector clients across Africa.

“We are very pleased that Chika is joining us as we work to accelerate our strategic repositioning,” said MTN Group Chief Operating Officer Jens Schulte-Bockum.

A Nigerian-American national, Chika has a Masters of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University and an MBA from MIT. In his new role he will be based in South Africa.

In December 2020, MTN Group announced the completion of a comprehensive strategy review with a focus on accelerating growth, deleveraging the holding company debt and unlocking value.

To support the execution of the repositioned strategy, we announced the appointment of a new Group Chief Financial Officer as well as changes to the Group’s regional structure and the Group Executive Committee.

The revised strategy will be presented in more detail after the release of 2020 full-year results on 10 March.

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