Sinfield argued that a pilot-free roaming scheme in Ondo State allowing customers of each company to switch to the network of the other where its own has no coverage has run smoothly.

Last year, MTN announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer (CEO) for its unit in Libya. The telco has appointed Rahul De, who is currently serving as the chief marketing officer (CMO) of MTN Nigeria. Rahul tookover as the CEO of MTN Libya Lonestar Cell on November 1, 2020. He replaced Uche Ofodile, who departed in July to become the chief executive of MTN Benin.

Rahul De, who joined MTN in 2011 as chief marketing officer of MTN Ghana, spearheaded the team that is driving digital transformation in the country, from a voice and data centric organisation to one which drives a digital and fintech future. He has an MBA in International Business, a bachelor’s degree in science and 23 years of experience in the telecom industry.

MTN announced an R250 million relief package to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. According to MTN, the fund focused on employees, customers, vulnerable groups, contributions to the government’s Solidarity Fund and participating in industry interventions.

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During the same period, the company’s active subscribers also increased significantly to 25.2 million, which is an increase of 34.9 percent when compared to the previous year.

The increase in MTN’s subscriber base is attributed to various initiatives the telco launched last year to enhance coverage and drive data usage penetration. One of the important initiatives undertaken by MTN includes improving its 4G network coverage with over 6,000 additional sites leveraging 800MHz spectrum and repositioning its commercial data offerings.

Chief executive at MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman told the media, “I am pleased with our performance in 2019, which demonstrates the progress we have made in the implementation of our BRIGHT strategy. Despite a challenging operating environment, we continued to deliver double-digit growth in service revenue in line with our medium-term guidance. Voice revenue growth remained healthy, and data revenue continued to accelerate, supporting a 12.6 percent increase in service revenue with an acceleration in growth to 14 percent year-on-year in Q4 2019.”

Besides reporting an increase in its subscriber base, MTN Nigeria also revealed that it added 5.3 million new smartphone users to its network, bringing smartphone penetration to 41.8 percent of our base, while data traffic rose by 85.8 percent.

MTN Nigeria is also planning to invest around N600 billion to overhaul its network in the country in the next three years. This investment will enable MTN to accelerate its 4G network expansion and simultaneously increase its subscriber base.

Overall, 2019 proved to be a good year for MTN Nigeria as it made significant profits, the company revealed in a statement. With the initiatives undertaken, MTN is expected to have a positive year in 2020 as well.

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According to MTN Nigeria’s financial report for the year ended December 31st, 2019, its network of mobile money agents served around 1 million customers in its first four months of operation.

MTN Nigeria, which is the largest mobile telecommunication firm in the country, further plans to add more mobile money agents to its network in Nigeria.

The telco further revealed that it has expanded its customer base by 10.5 percent last year, reaching 64.3 million subscribers.

Ferdi Moolman, who serves as the chief executive at MTN Nigeria told the media, “We continue to make good progress with the expansion of our super-agent network and are confident that the expanded service offerings will position us to effectively drive broader financial inclusion as well as roll out the payment service bank seamlessly, once we receive a licence.”

“In addition, we have seen a rapid acceleration in data revenue growth enabled by greater population coverage, a revamp of our data portfolio and initiatives to drive 4G device penetration. We added 5.3 million new smartphones to our network, bringing smartphone penetration to 41.8 percent of our base, while data traffic rose by 85.8 percent.”

Ferdi Moolman further revealed that the company’s income from fintech has also substantially increased by 23 percent last year. The telco plans to diversify its product offerings by adding cash deposits and withdrawals and bill payment facilities.

In the month of August 2019, MTN Nigeria’s subsidiary Yello Digital Financial Services launched its mobile money agent’s network.

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The investment by MTN will be used to boost connectivity in Nigeria.

The investment by MTN in Nigeria follows the Nigerian government’s decision to drop charges against MTN Group which alleged that the telco owed around $2 billion in unpaid taxes to the government.

At the same time, MTN Nigeria also dropped the $3 billion rights enforcement countersuit it filed against the Attorney General Abubakar Malami.

In a statement, MTN Group said, “MTN announced a capital investment programme of $1.6 billion over the next three years to strengthen and expand its network and operations in Nigeria. MTN remains committed to meeting its fiscal responsibilities and contributing to the social and economic development of Nigeria in collaboration with all stakeholders.”

Prior to the announcement, top MTN executives held a meeting with chief executive Rob Shuter and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, where Buhari confirmed that the Nigerian government will drop the lawsuit and continue to provide MTN a suitable environment to do business and succeed.

Last year, MTN formed a five-member international advisory board to help the telco make better business decisions and tackle the problems it is facing in the African continent.

The advisory board included political heavyweights such as former South African president Thabo Mbeki, former president of Ghana John Kufuor and Dr Aisha Abdullahi, former African Union commissioner for political affairs.

According to MTN, it has around 233 million subscribers in 21 consumer countries across Africa. MTN also provides enterprise services to businesses in 23 different African markets.

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M-Pesa, a mobile phone based money transfer service based in Africa, has been quite successful in east Africa, which prompted investors to believe that financial services in telecom sector will be witnessing huge growth in the coming years.

The new scheme will enable cash transfers and payments through mobile connections.

The central bank of Nigeria had earlier permitted telecom companies to offer mobile financial services, as it could help millions of Nigerians who do not have bank accounts, to receive access to such services. The introduction of mobile banking services will boost financial inclusion in Nigeria.

MTN Nigeria received the licence to provide financial services from the central bank of Nigeria in July.

MTN Nigeria is the largest mobile network in Nigeria, with a customer base of 56 million people.

Nigeria has a population of 180 million people, out of which almost half do not have a bank account.

MTN Nigeria’s shares fell by 1.49 percent to 144.50 naira on Thursday. MTN is currently valued at 2.95 trillion naira or $9.64 billion.

Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, with one third of the company’s revenue coming from there.

MTN’s current chief executive officer, Rob Shuter, was appointed by the firm in 2016 to revamp the company by bringing in new strategic growth plans and to look for new sources of revenue.

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Last year, the group had said that it would apply for a mobile banking licence in Nigeria in a hope to launch the service in 2019. Being South Africa’s largest telecom company, it has faced significant challenges in Nigeria. The company was involved in a dispute after the central bank said that it illegally transferred $8.1 billion overseas, media reports said. 

Toward the end of last year, Nigeria had announced that it would allow telecom companies to provide mobile banking services. The decision stemmed from the country’s efforts to offer citizens access to mobile money services without the need for bank accounts. 

Mobile money services have been quite successful in east Africa. MTN Nigeria’s CEO Ferdi Moolman, said, “Through the network established by YDFS, MTN is in a position to broaden the availability of financial services for the under-served across the country. This marks a very important first step in leveraging our infrastructure to scale our fintech initiatives.”

Moolman added that MTN Nigeria has also applied for a Payment Service Bank Licence. The licence over a period of time will allow the company to offer a broad range of financial services to communities. The company hopes to receive the licence shortly. 

Last year, the World Bank said that if MTN Nigeria is granted licence, its mobile banking services will cater to 60 percent of the Nigerian population who do not have access to a bank account. 

Byron Lotter, fund manager at Vestact, said, “It’s a huge opportunity for MTN.” Vestact owns shares in MTN. In the six months to June, the company has added 3.3 million customers to its network. Moolman said that strong data and voice revenue has reinforced the company’s performance during that period. 

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MTN Nigeria now has a market valuation of $6 billion. It is second behind Dangote Cement as the most valued company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Dangote Cement has a market value of $8.3 billion.

Instead of opting for an IPO, MTN Nigeria simply listed its existing shareholders’equity. According to listing documents with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigerian billionaire Victor Odili is the top individual shareholder in MTN. He holds shares worth $244 million in the South African telecom company’s Nigerian unit.

Victor Odili heads Nigeria’s Aeromaritime Group a holding company for eight group companies that operate across oil and gas, shipping, and stevedoring. Second behind Victor Odili is businessman Pascal Dozie who owns 1.67 percent of MTN Nigeria’s equity. Pascal Dozie’s stake in MTN Nigeria is worth $102 million. He is the founder of a commercial bank called Diamond Bank and has invested in energy, hotels, and financial services in Nigeria through his family office.

Sani Mohammed Bello, the founder of Amni International Petroleum Development, a Nigerian oil exploration company, owns 1.3 percent of MTN Nigeria. His stake is worth $80 million. Babatunde Folawayio, a Nigerian businessman with interests in energy, agriculture, shipping, real estate, and engineering owns 1.07 percent of MTN. His holdings in MTN Nigeria are valued at $66 million.

Gbenga Oyebode, a top commercial lawyer in Nigeria, is the fifth largest individual shareholder in MTN Nigeria. He owns less than 1 percent of MTN Nigeria and his stake is currently worth $55 million. Closely behind him is the founder of Quaditect Consultants Ahmed Dasuki. Dasuki owns close to .75 percent of MTN Nigeria valued at $53 billion. He also owns Drill Masters Africa, the largest indigenous exploration drilling company in Ghana.

Kari Olutokun Toriola owns a small stake in MTN Nigeria worth approximately $280,000. According to the listing documents, Ahmed Dasuki and Kari Olutokun Toriola own 25 million and 920,000 additional ordinary shares respectively in MTN Nigeria. These additional holdings come through the unwinding of the nominee arrangements.  Olutokun Toriola is vice president, west and central Africa at MTN.

According to Forbes, most of these leading shareholders in MTN Nigeria have used their shareholdings to take large loans.

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