Governments across Africa have commended the continents leading telecoms company, MTN is donating $25 million to support the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The telco made the donation in expectation of securing up to seven million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for health workers across the continent, which will contribute to the vaccination initiative of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
CEO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita
Speaking on the donation, the President and CEO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita said that the devastating impact of COVID-19 has been unprecedented and profound. “
Public and private partnerships are needed if we are to succeed in the fight against the pandemic and restore social and economic norms for our continent and our communities,” South Africa’s President and Chairperson of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the African Union had secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses on behalf of its Member States, through advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to $2 billion to the manufacturers by the African Export-Import Bank.
This was an important milestone in efforts to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine for Africa’s people. However, with a population of about 1.3 billion, Africa requires many more doses to achieve at least 60 percent herd immunity. Contributions by private organisations, like MTN, are therefore essential to help the continent reach its target.
“Our goal is to ensure that all those who need the COVID-19 vaccine have access to it very quickly, but the biggest hurdle in Africa has been the financing of the vaccines, and the logistics of vaccinating at scale. We, therefore, welcome the right partnerships, like the one with MTN, to achieve our minimum 60 percent vaccination target,” says Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s biggest telecoms company, MTN Group is facing shares scandals accusations with over 400 MTN employees filed an application for condonation at the High Court, pleading to have a matter in which senior executives stand accused of swindling millions of empowerment shares to be heard in an open court. Current and former MTN staffers are demanding over 200 million shares allocated to them over a decade ago in an employee share ownership scheme, saying their portion of shares was misappropriated in a trust. The trust, Alpine, was set up by MTN as an investment vehicle for the employees.
Group CEO of MTN, Rob Shutter
In October last year, the staffers threatened court action after failed attempts to get information from MTN and the trust regarding the shares. The group has now filed its court papers; the heads of arguments were filed last week. The dispute has pitted Africa’s leading telecoms company against its own employees, who vowed to hold the company and Alpine Trust accountable.
At the core of the dispute is the allocation of more than 200 million shares from an initial 309 million shares that had been set aside for the employees. The employees, who go by the moniker Tsunami Group, claim that in late 2002, company Newshelf 664 purchased 309 million shares in MTN at R13.89 a share, and the agreement was that an employee would have to work for six consecutive years to receive 100% participation ratio. In addition, they claim after settling the debt, there were over 200 million shares that were never distributed. The employees say the estimated value of the shares was pegged at R35 billion.
The Alpine Trust – which was headed by five MTN executives, including MTN Group chairman Phuthuma Nhleko and former CEO Sifiso Dabengwa – held Newshelf’s shares on behalf of the scheme’s 3 260 beneficiaries. The Alpine Trust aimed to allocate 75% of the benefits to black MTN employees. But beneficiaries of the scheme have claimed the trust reduced the amount originally allocated to them without explaining its process.
The Tsunami Group claims the scheme remains incomplete and suspect, accusing MTN’s chairman and six others of “continuing breach of their common law duty to account; together with the dereliction of their duty of impartiality, including avoidance of conflicts of interest; and their duty of due diligence in maintaining prudent oversight of investments”.
In the head of arguments filed before Justice Marcus Senyatsi last week, advocate Greg Fourie SC, representing Tsunami, says: “The applicants claim that the capital distribution to them remains incomplete and, indeed, suspect. Over the course of several years and many queries, the applicants to date have been denied a full accounting by the respondent.”
In order to verify their “true financial position”, Fourie says the group sought the expertise of “leading financial forensic expert in financial accounting and tax, namely professor Harvey Wairner. He has confirmed to the applicants’ attorneys that the information supplied to them by the trust is too limited to verify whether the respondents have, in fact, short-changed the applicants.”
Perversely, he says, “bona fide attempt to obtain specific documentation required by Wairner from the respondents – to which they were in any event entitled to by law as capital beneficiaries − was rebuffed by the respondents’ attorneys as premature discovery.”
Furthermore, the heads of arguments say MTN and other respondents have sought to delay ventilation of the main dispute at every turn “inter alia by objecting to amendments to the notice of motion and the filing of further affidavits, challenging the mandate of the applicants’ attorney (despite the filing of over 200 powers of attorney) and now by opposing this application for condonation.”
In his heads of arguments, Fourie says: “The matter is now at the stage that the key issue in dispute, being whether a full accounting has been made by the trustees to the capital beneficiaries of the trust, has been comprehensively ventilated in various affidavits.” In response, Nompilo Morafo, MTN group executive: corporate affairs, tells ITWeb: “The claim is against Alpine Trust and its trustees in respect of its shareholding in MTN. No relief has been sought against MTN. Given that the matter is before the courts (sub judice), we cannot comment any further.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
African telecommunications giant MTN recently released a statement. In it, the telecoms company claimed that its MoMo mobile money service recorded 42 million regular users in September. This crowd is spread across 16 different African markets. At the end of 2019 and mid-2020, they were 25 million and 38 million respectively.
MTN
In the second period mentioned, transactions were 11,752 per minute and had a value of $ 61 billion. The operator thus shows its ability to take advantage of the growth of mobile money in Africa. It is faster on the continent than in any other place in the world. MoMo is therefore a flagship product of MTN.
Initially dedicated to depositing, sending and withdrawing money, the service meets many more needs now. Its users can use it as an electronic wallet, to take out loans, take out an insurance policy and transfer money. A range of possibilities that explain its success. This, especially since MTN reduced transaction costs this year.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
Africa’s biggest telecommunications giant, MTN Group has announced the offloading of its stake in Jumia, one of Africa’s largest eCommerce firms making a net proceeds of $142.31 million dollars from the sale. This move is part of MTN’s ongoing efforts to streamline its portfolio and minimise debt by disposing of its non-core businesses. Recall that in August 2020, a week before the Jumia’s Q2 2020 earnings call, MTN announced that it was planning to sell off its 18.9% stake in Jumia and telecom tower company, IHS towers.
Then, MTN said that it had not finalised the decision. But it now reveals that it made a filing with the New York Stock Exchange to prepare for a secondary sale of its shares. “We are proud to have been a partner in the evolution of one of Africa’s pioneering online marketplace businesses and will continue our relationship with Jumia through ongoing operational partnerships in some markets,” MTN said in a statement.
In April 2019, Jumia became the first African tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange, and its shares soared to hit a $2 billion valuation. Yet, its failure to make a profit, a short-selling article from Citron, and issues with partners all sent its stock crashing down.
Six months later, Jumia had lost its unicorn status and its shares sold for as low as $3 at the start of the pandemic.
In March 2020, Rocket Internet sold off its entire stake in Jumia but did not fully reveal the financial details behind the deal. Interestingly, Jumia’s stock rose 142% in the months following the pandemic and it briefly regained its unicorn status.
But MTN’s announcement in August caused fresh uncertainty for investors. When Jumia finally released its financial results, its shares fell once more to single-digit numbers.
Andrew Left, writer of the short-selling article that initially sent Jumia’s shares tumbling down, seemingly had a change of heart. His article earlier in October 2020 began to attract investors once more.
In the last 7 days, Jumia’s shares have steadied between $16 – $19 and its market cap has reached as high as $1.5 billion. A negative pre-market movement has followed MTN’s announcement, but it has remained within the price range of the last seven days –$17.25 and it’s currently valued at $1.35 billion. MTN initially had a 40% stake in Jumia, but over the years, the stake gradually dropped to 31.28%, and then 18.9% by the end of 2019. All things considered, we estimate the value of MTN’s sale to be between $250 million – $255 million.
Jumia is expected to announce its earnings for Q3 2020 on November 10, 2020, and hopes will be high for anyone with the slightest interest in the online retail space in Africa.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s largest telecoms company, MTN Group has embarked on major management reshuffle across its operations in Africa starting with the appointment of Karl Toriola, current Vice President of MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, as the new CEO of MTN Nigeria – effective 1 March 2021. Toriola will take over as MTN Nigeria CEO from Ferdi Moolman, who has served MTN Nigeria with distinction in this role for the past five years. Moolman will return to South Africa, where he will assume the new role of Group Chief Risk Officer.
Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria
Toriola has a BSc Hons in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Communication Systems. In his five years as VP of MTN’s WECA region, he has overseen the steady progress of the operating companies in the region, notably the turnaround of MTN Ivory Coast and MTN Cameroon over the past two years. In addition, the WECA markets have made significant commercial and strategic strides, including the improvement of market share and the development of mobile financial services. The latter in particular is an important driver of the group’s medium- to long-term growth strategy.
Since joining the group in 2006, Toriola has also held a number of senior operational roles at MTN, including chief technical officer of MTN Nigeria and CEO of MTN Cameroon. He is also a board member on a number of companies within the group, including MTN Nigeria. His successor for VP of WECA will be announced after the group strategy review is completed by the end of November 2020.
“Karl brings extensive technical and commercial experience, as well as a deep understanding of the Nigeria market to the role,” says MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita.
“Karl started his MTN career in his home country at MTN Nigeria 14 years’ ago and has all the attributes necessary to lead this very important business into the future.”
Ferdi Moolman who has been appointed as the Group Chief Risk Officer, a new Executive Committee (exco) position – effective from 1 March 2021 joined MTN in 2002 and has held several senior positions within the group in Nigeria and in Iran. He has spent the past five years as the CEO of MTN Nigeria and, as its CFO prior to that. During that time, the company says that significant progress has been made in stabilising the business and setting it on a sustainable growth path. That’s why the management of enterprise-wide risk is integral to MTN’s growth strategy.
Moolman will bring extensive operational and financial experience to the role given his deep knowledge of the MTN Group, its markets and the telecoms sector. He will remain on the board of MTN Nigeria and will in due course be appointed to other material subsidiary boards given his new group responsibility. “Ferdi has been an exemplary leader of MTN Nigeria and has put the business on a sound growth platform for the future,” says MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita.
“He brings significant strategic, financial and operational experience to the new group risk role, where we want to ensure that our enterprise-wide risk management systems are continuously strengthened and remain resilient as we drive our growth strategy.”
Also, the telco appointed Rahul De – current CMO of MTN Nigeria – to CEO of its operations in Liberia – starting 1 November. replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin. With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, De has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation.
“I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” says Mupita. “Rahul is a seasoned leader renowned for driving innovative digital and FinTech advancement in our business and in the telecommunications industry.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
MTN Group has been named the ‘Most Valuable African Brand’ by Brand Finance Africa. The ranking ascribes a brand value of $3,3 billion to MTN.
Brand value is said to be the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. In its survey, Brand Finance said that “over the last year, Africa’s largest mobile operator has celebrated solid profits and impressive subscriber growth.”
Group CEO of MTN, Rob Shutter
The survey assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the enterprise value of all brands in its survey, compared to their values on 1 January 2020.
It categorised the telecoms sector as ‘limited impact’, which it said meant “minimal brand value loss or potential brand value growth”. This was due to the increasingly important role that mobile operators have played in keeping people connected in the time of the pandemic. In July, Brand Finance named MTN Group the most valuable South African brand, a result of the group’s focus on improving the customer experience for subscribers, as well as uniting 19 000 employees.
MTN has the best mobile network in South Africa, according to findings from the Q3 2020 Mobile Network Quality Report. The report, from MyBroadband Insights, shows that South Africans had an average mobile download speed of 29.16Mbps and an average upload speed of 11.46Mbps.
To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a “Network Quality Score” out of 10 was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency. MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.68, followed by Vodacom on 5.99, Telkom on 5.16, Cell C on 4.27, and Rain on 3.74.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s biggest telecoms firm, Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Group has announced the opening of an application programming interface (API) marketplace for software developers across the continent. The API named Chenosis will give developers and businesses the opportunity to discover and subscribe to open application programming interfaces. According to sources from the telco giant, Chenosis will be open for the public from the 10th of August and will among other things enable developers to tap into a broad spectrum of API products and services from across the continent, ranging from telecommunications, e-health, e-government, Internet of things, fintech, e-commerce, identity and authentication, payments and collections, location and more, from a single marketplace.
MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer Charles Molapisi
To avoid conflict of interest, Chenosis will run as a separate brand and entity, and will have an arm’s-length relationship with MTN so that it remains open to all mobile network operators, fintech start-ups, payment service providers, mobile wallet operators and financial service providers, so says MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer Charles Molapisi.
Chenosis has dashboards for publishers and consumers to track revenue and credit balances, and view consumption analytics and API performance and the marketplace allows businesses and developers to publish their APIs so that other developers can discover and consume them. The marketplace also provides the tools for publishers to monetise and promotes their APIs, by creating subscription plans and product bundles that developers and businesses can purchase. The marketplace portal has dashboards for publishers and consumers to track revenue and credit balances, and view consumption analytics and API performance.
“The power of the platform will be in the creation of ‘mashup APIs’, which will connect cross-industry APIs and facilitate innovation and the ability to build new services and new business models. Mashups are new product and service orchestrations created by developers from two or more existing APIs,” said Molapisi. He further pointed out that the MTN Group has an exciting pan-African and international partnerships lined up to publish and monetise their APIs in the marketplace over the coming months. These partnerships will enable Chenosis to become the largest and most diverse developer ecosystem on the African continent.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
MTN Group is not relenting in its quest to fully utilize the power of technology to innovate. The telecommunication company has announced the launch of Africa’s first Mobile Money (MoMo) artificial intelligence service or “chatbot”. In a statement from MTN Group, the chatbot went live in Ivory Coast in May and will be rolled out across MTN’s MoMo footprint in the next few months.
Mobile Money
What The New MTN Chatbot Looks Like
Like the Chinese WeChat bots integrated into WeChat app, that can set medical appointments, call a taxi, send money to friends, check in for a flight and many many other, MTN’s artificial intelligence mobile money “assistant” enables customers to engage with MTN’s MoMo services, including payments, on various social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and via SMS.
The chatbot is an artificial intelligence guide that assists users to navigate MTN’s MoMo services and provide other useful information. This innovation leverages messaging and artificial intelligence to drive customer engagement and enhance their MTN MoMo experience.
The service will also be included over time, in MTN’s own newly released advanced instant messaging service “Ayoba”.
How a Chatbot Works:Example of user request analysis.
Commenting on the launch, MTN Group President and CEO, Rob Shuter said:
“We are passionate about bringing the power of our mobile money solutions to more than 60 million customers across Africa over the next few years. Harnessing modern technologies like artificial intelligence can improve in scale, how MTN interacts with customers, enabling them to reach us anytime and anywhere, through a variety of channels including social networks and messaging applications. We can also harness the power of artificial intelligence to provide our customers with the right answers to their questions at the right time.”
“We are committed to improving financial inclusion with a range of solutions aimed at addressing the needs of various market segments. While MTN has made great strides in these areas, we will continue working to deliver our vision for MTN to become one of the largest Fintech players across our footprint.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
