Ralph Mupita - Afrikan Heroes

MTN Dishes Out Huge Remunerations to CEO, Others

April 27, 2022

Ralph Mupita, the MTN Group President and Chief Executive

Africa’s leading telecoms company MTN has made news again with the huge sums of remunerations its top management staff received in 2021. The Group CEO Ralph Mupita earned total remuneration in the 2021 financial year of R84.2-million, the telecommunications giant’s integrated annual report, published on Monday, shows – and he wasn’t the only one of its top executives to get handsomely rewarded for their work.

Mupita’s 2021 financial year remuneration is an increase of 133% over what he received the year before.

“The difference of remuneration received in 2021 compared to 2020 was attributed to improved performance outcomes between the two years and his promotion to group president and CEO, effective 1 September 2020,” MTN explained in the report.

Chief operating officer Jens Schulte-Bockum received total remuneration of R67.4-million

Between 2020 and 2021, service revenue improved by 18.3% to R171.8-billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – a measure of operating profit – jumped by 23.7% to R80.8-billion. During the year, Mupita “overachieved” on the metrics of asset transformation and equity returns, MTN said. He also met his targets in many other areas.

Mupita’s basic salary in 2021 was R15.4-million, up from R12-million in 2020. Short-term incentives amounted to R29-million, from R17.7-million previously. Long-term incentives (LTI) were R37.8-million, from R5.3-million – up 616%, and the biggest contributor to the sharp rise in his total remuneration.

“The increase in LTI reflected between 2020 and 2021 financial year is due to the improved performance conditions outcomes and the group share price performance between the two periods as at settlement dates,” MTN said.

Chief financial officer Tsholofelo Molefe, meanwhile, received total remuneration of R23.9-million, made up of a salary of R6.5-million, short-term incentives of R11-million and a sign-on bonus of R5.8-million (paid in lieu of the forfeiture of a performance bonus at Telkom, her previous employer).

Chief operating officer Jens Schulte-Bockum received total remuneration of R67.4-million, the vast bulk of this coming in the form of short- and long-term incentives (R55.6-million). He received a salary of R9.9-million.

Board chairman Mcebisi Jonas was paid R5.9-million for his services, which included R1.3-million for his participation in a strategy session. Jonas’s retainer was R3.1-million.

Former MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa, who resigned at the end of the financial year, received a total remuneration of R51.4-million. This was made up of a salary of R7.6-million, short- and long-term incentives totalling R31-million and other benefits of R12-million. These “other benefits” included compensation comprising notice pay and a restraint-of-trade agreement.

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 Eyes Second Ethiopian Operating Licence

June 1, 2021

Africa’s largest telecoms company MTN Group has revealed that the telco would consider bidding for the second Ethiopian operating licence after initially losing to Safaricom. This was made known by the company’s CEO, Ralph Mupita. According to Mupita, “We took an approach that the opportunity, as strategic as it was, needed to meet our capital allocation framework and the hurdles that we saw given the licence conditions. We were particularly focused on the lack of mobile money in the licencing regime, and there were some issues around how the telco constructs would be accommodated within Ethiopia. We certainly priced for those things and near-term risks that we saw, and we felt that the financial bid there was appropriate.”

He says that although it was disappointing that they did not win the initial bid, they may take another shot at it.

“There are views that the Ethiopian authorities will reissue the licence with mobile money, and if they do that in a relatively short period of time, we will apply our minds on the issue, we have not made a firm decision on that,” adds Ralph Mupita.

It could be recalled that Safaricom, alongside parent company Vodafone, were awarded one operating licence by Ethiopia’s telecommunications regulator. The telco is expected to pay $850 million for the licence.

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 Rwanda Lists on Kigali Stock Market

May 7, 2021

The MTN subsidiary in Rwanda has listed on the Rwanda stock exchange. With this development, shareholders of Crystal Telecom became direct shareholders of MTN Rwanda with the listing of its shares on the Rwanda Stock Exchange, Kigali. A total of 1,350,886,600 ordinary shares were registered with the RSE at an initial listing price of Rwf269 per ordinary share. At the time of suspension of trading of CTL shares late last month, the price per share stood at Rwf190.

The total market capitalisation of MTN Rwanda (MTN Rwandacell Plc) is Rwf 363,388,495,400, making it one of the most valuable firms in the country.

With the listing, 20 percent of MTN Rwanda’s shares which were previously held by CTL are now directly held by the public, a total of 270,177,320 shares.

The rest of the shares will be held by MTN REL (Mauritius) Limited, 337,721,650 shares (25 per cent) and MTN International (Mauritius) Limited 742,987,630 (55 per cent). This means that the telco received a waiver from Capital Markets Authority and Rwanda Stock Exchange on the 25 per cent public holding requirement for listed companies.

Explaining why only 20 per cent will be available for the public, Ralph Mupita, the MTN Group President and Chief Executive said that it was among other things informed by previous experience listing in other markets as well as anticipated demand.

Mupita said that from their experience in previous listings in Ghana and Nigeria, the decision about the size of stake to avail for public trading was informed by demand patterns, need for capital and regulator engagement. The firm did not need to raise capital but rather enable CTL exit was among factors considered.

“When we came to Rwanda, which is our third listing, the company did not mean to raise additional capital but rather restructure CTL to allow direct ownership. In time to come, if there is sufficient demand or a requirement by the regulator, we will be open to go beyond 20 per cent,” he said.

“In Ghana, we went in with a desire to sell up to 30 per cent position from our 98 per cent position but when we did the IPO, we realized that there was only demand of about 12 percent. Out of that, close to 8 per cent was by international investors,” he added.

Celestin Rwabukumba the Chief Executive of the Rwanda Stock Exchange said that they explored multiple options before agreeing on the 20 per cent.

He said that while the local market has requirements for 25 per cent to be floated during listing, the boards of CMA and RSE have discretions to waivers depending on the need presented.

On having more than 20 per cent available for public trading, Rwabukumba noted that it would be based on capital market requirement, market demand among others.

“While I would want more (available for trading), I have to face realities and accommodate the needs of all parties, their (MTN ) interests have to come into consideration so that the shareholders and market benefit,” he said.

Going forward, MTN Rwanda Chief Executive Mitwa Ng’ambi said that they are keen on delivering value to shareholders and continued investments by further establishing our presence, expanding connectivity, driving digital inclusion among others.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana said that listing is proof of confidence in the economy, future of capital markets and would serve to improve the local ecosystem.

He noted that the Rwandan economy is on a recovery path and is expected to grow by 5.1 per cent in 2021 and 7 per cent in 2022.

For dividend payout, MTN Rwandacell Plc will target a minimum dividend pay-out ratio of 50 percent of its distributable net income in the medium term, other than in 2021 where a pay-out ratio of at least 30 per cent will be targeted to take account of the renewal of the telco’s license.

MTN Rwanda registered an after-tax profit of Rwf20.2Bn in 2020 compared to Rwf6.81B in 2019, a growth of close to 200 per cent. The telco is projecting profit after tax of about Rwf23.7B in 2021.

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, Safaricom Jostle for Ethiopia’s Telecoms Operating Licences

April 27, 2021

There are indications that Ethiopia has received two bids, from South Africa’s MTN and a consortium including Kenya’s Safaricom, for new telecoms operating licences. The Ministry of Finance made the announcement in the latest step in the Horn of Africa nation’s efforts to liberalise its economy. The country of 110 million people has one of the world’s last closed telecoms markets.

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita

Vodafone, Vodacom, the United Kingdom’s CDC Group and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp are also part of the consortium, the finance ministry said in a post on Twitter announcing the two bids it had received. Brook Taye, a senior advisor at the finance ministry, said that it should not take more than a week for the winners of the licences to be announced.

“We will select the winners after technical and financial evaluation is completed,” Balcha Reba, director general of the Ethiopian Communications Authority, said at a news conference on Monday. The government may award one or two licences and has the right to cancel the bidding process, he added.

The licences will pave the way to open up Ethiopia’s telecoms industry, which is considered the big prize in the country’s push to liberalise the economy. The liberalisation will also involve the sale of a 45% stake in Ethio Telecom, which has said it also plans to launch mobile money transfer services.

“It seems companies like Orange and Etisalat are more interested in buying a stake in Ethio Telecoms,” Brook said, referring to the French and the United Arab Emirates mobile operators.

Kenya’s Safaricom said in a statement that “for structuring purposes, the respective consortium members may invest through special purpose investment vehicles”. The company estimated in 2019 that it would have to pay about $1 billion for a new licence.

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said the consortium had submitted a “strong tender”.

Ethiopia’s licencing process represents the last and largest telecom liberalisation opportunity in the world,” MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita was quoted as saying.

Sumitomo confirmed it had submitted the bid with the other companies, without providing further details. The bid winners will secure full operating licences, but they will not be allowed to operate mobile phone-based financial services, government officials said last year. They will also be required to set up their own network infrastructure, such as cellphone towers, they said.

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 To Confront Fintechs Properly As It Plans To Separate Fintech Services From Its Fibre Activities

March 14, 2021

MTN Group has begun to work on separating its fiber and fintech units. This movement is part of plans to unlock value and raise funds to boost its development. The operator is looking for partners and strategic investors for the two subsidiaries.

Ralph Mupita, CEO MTN — *Ralph Mupita*, CEO MTN

The company has 85,000 kilometers (52,817 miles) of fiber across the continent, while fintech products such as mobile payment services are growing rapidly. The strategy represents the next phase of an ongoing plan to sell assets and repay debt to allow MTN to invest in its expansion.

The South African-based company seeks to take advantage of the millions of Africans who connect to the Internet for the first time each year. Many do this via smartphones, and there is rapid population growth in major markets on the continent such as Nigeria. MTN’s fintech business could contribute 20% of the group’s revenue over the next three to four years, up from 8% currently.

“We recognize that there is a significant demand for data in Africa that is not going to stop. Nothing prevents us from calling on other parties to help us finance the infrastructure we need. This work is already underway, ”said CEO Ralph Mupita.

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

MTN fintech

African Governments Commends MTN for $25 Million to the African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme

January 31, 2021

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).

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