Africa’s largest telecommunications operator, MTN, announced strong growth on Monday. The company reported that its service revenue for the first nine months of the year rose by 25.9%. This significant performance was fueled largely by robust business activity in Nigeria and Ghana.
The group’s total customer base grew by 5% to 301 million users.
African Markets Power Growth
Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, group service revenue increased by 22.6%. The strong performance in West Africa was the primary engine for the entire group:
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MTN Nigeria led the surge, delivering an outstanding 57.1% rise in service revenue.
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MTN Ghana also contributed strong results, with service revenue increasing by 35.9%. This growth was supported by lower inflation and more stable local exchange rates in both countries.
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MTN South Africa, the group’s home market, saw significantly slower growth of just 2%. Gains in postpaid and enterprise segments were countered by sustained pressure in the highly competitive prepaid market.
Digital Expansion is Key
The shift toward digital services continues to underpin MTN’s strategy:
- Data Revenue jumped by 40%, driven by an expansion in active data subscribers and high consumer demand.
- Fintech Revenue (Mobile Money and related services) climbed by 35.7%. This reflects the rapid adoption of digital financial services.
To support this expansion, MTN invested 27.9 billion rand (approximately $\text{\$1.63}$ billion) in capital expenditure. These network investments successfully drove growth in both data traffic and fintech transaction volumes.
Looking ahead, MTN plans to scale up its AI-powered digital inclusion initiative across the continent in early 2026.
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