MTN Group: partnerships key to Africa’s next billion connections

By Nhlanhla Muthe

MTN Group Vice President Ebenezer Asante (right) with CNN Reporter Larry Madowo at the CNN’s Global Perspectives: Africa event in London, where he highlighted the power of partnerships for sustainable digital growth.

Partnerships across public and private sectors, borders, and industries are crucial to unlocking Africa’s next phase of sustainable development, MTN Group executives said at CNN International’s inaugural Global Perspectives event in London on Monday.

MTN Group says partnerships across governments, investors, and industries are vital to unlocking Africa’s next wave of sustainable growth.

Speaking at CNN International’s first Global Perspectives event in London, the telecoms giant stressed that collaboration, not competition, will determine how quickly the continent connects its next one billion people to the digital economy.

Ebenezer Asante, MTN Group Vice President for Ghana and Southern and East Africa, underlined the importance of collaborations in ensuring that nobody is left behind in the digital era.

“We are getting to a space where, without partnership and working together, not only with our competitors, but also with other investors, with government, as well as even multilateral agencies and development fund providers, we are simply not going to be able to cover the next one billion people,” he said.

He was referring to the roughly one billion Africans who still lack access to mobile internet, leaving them “stuck in the voice era.” The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that only 38% of Africa’s population was online in 2024, compared to a global average of 68%.

According to the GSMA, closing this usage gap could inject US$700 billion into sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP by 2030, underscoring the economic potential of digital inclusion.

“We require smart regulations. We require to bring the cost of deployment way lower than where it is today. That speaks to innovation, it speaks to partnership. We also require to build talent and skills,” Asante added.

As Africa’s largest mobile network operator, MTN Group serves more than 300 million subscribers across 19 markets. In the first half of 2025 alone, over 63 million active Mobile Money (MoMo) users carried out more than 11 billion transactions worth US$212 billion.

Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech, emphasised how fintech partnerships are driving financial inclusion and startup growth across the continent.

 “Us and regulators, we have the same vision, the same objective. We want to drive financial inclusion and for people to get more dignity. What is more important than financial inclusion, is for people to be independent financially,” he said.

CNN International’s Global Perspectives: Africa featured live interviews and panel discussions on innovation, investment, and sustainable growth, moderated by CNN journalists, which included Kenya’s Larry Madowo.