MTN Ghana has been officially elevated to the status of a major subsidiary within the MTN Group, reflecting its growth, performance and future potential.
The West African country now joins South Africa and Nigeria as one of the three major subsidiaries within MTN Group’s 18 operational markets.
This elevation follows MTN Ghana’s recognition as the best-performing operation across all MTN Group markets in 2025 under the prestigious internal “Million Dollar Challenge,” a benchmark initiative that assesses operational excellence, customer service, and strategic execution across MTN’s continental footprint.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, announced this development during a high-level visit to Ghana last week.
Accompanied by Senior Vice-President of Markets, Ebenezer Asante, he commended the board, MTN Ghana CEO, Stephen Blewett, and the management team for their exemplary leadership and governance.
According to Mupita, MTN Ghana’s performance reaffirms the country’s strategic importance to the MTN Group, with achievements that set a benchmark for other subsidiaries.
MTN Ghana’s award-winning performance
The recognition of MTN Ghana as the 2025 Overall Winner of the Million Dollar Challenge was celebrated during the MTN Group Global Leadership Gathering (GLG) 2026, a three-day forum held from February 2 to 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The awards highlighted MTN Ghana’s operational excellence, customer-centric innovation, and disciplined execution across multiple business pillars.
The company secured top honours in Connectivity – Enterprise, while its fintech arm, MobileMoney LTD (MML), clinched awards in the Fintech category.
MML CEO Shaibu Haruna was named Fintech CEO of the Year and was also first runner-up for the overall Best CEO of the Year, cementing his reputation as one of the Group’s most impactful leaders.
Ghana’s multiple accolades, including the Largest and Most Valuable Platform awards in connectivity and fintech, underscore the scale and strategic significance of the country’s operations within the broader MTN Group portfolio.
“This recognition is not just about awards; it is about the sustained commitment, strategic foresight, and operational discipline that have positioned Ghana at the centre of MTN’s continental success story,” Mupita remarked.
Strengthening ties with stakeholders
Mupita described the visit as both symbolic and strategic, emphasizing the importance of engaging directly with MTN Ghana’s board, leadership team, regulators, and government officials at the outset of 2026.
Courtesy calls were made to the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, and the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George.
The discussions were constructive and forward-looking, centred on reaffirming MTN Group’s long-term commitment to Ghana and aligning the company’s strategy with national development objectives.
Part of the engagement’s purpose was to re-commit MTN Group’s position in Ghana as a major investor in digital infrastructure and financial inclusion.
Over the past five years, MTN Ghana has invested roughly US$1 billion in capital expenditure, with an additional US$1.1 billion planned over the next three years, signalling strong confidence in the country’s economy and digital market.
Aligning MTN strategy with Ghana’s development agenda
Mupita highlighted that MTN’s strategy in Ghana is closely aligned with national priorities, particularly the development of the digital economy and the expansion of financial inclusion.
On infrastructure, MTN Ghana currently operates over 5,000 telecom sites nationwide, with plans to deploy at least 500 new sites in 2026 alone—a tenfold increase compared with roughly the 50 sites added the previous year.
The expansion aims to improve the quality of service, especially in peri-urban and rural areas, and broaden nationwide broadband coverage.
Discussions with the sector minister also focused on making 5G spectrum available, which Mr Mupita noted would empower Ghanaians through enhanced home connectivity and digital access.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), achieved through combining spectrum bands such as 700 MHz and 3,500 MHz, can deliver high-speed broadband directly to households, enabling citizens to access educational content, business tools, entertainment, and other digital services without leaving their homes.
On the fintech front, MTN engaged the Bank of Ghana on plans to expand mobile money services beyond traditional USSD-based operations.
The Group also pledged collaboration with the central bank to combat fraud and scams in the mobile money ecosystem, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing a pivotal role in strengthening detection and prevention systems.
Mr Mupita emphasised that fraud is a global industry challenge and not unique to Ghana, highlighting the importance of technological solutions and multisectoral collaboration in ensuring trust and security.
MTN Ghana’s resilience amid economic volatility
Ebenezer Asante elaborated on MTN Ghana’s resilience in navigating economic volatility over the past 10 to 12 years.
He highlighted that despite inflationary pressures, currency depreciation, and macroeconomic shocks including the Domestic Debt Programme (DDP), the company has continued to invest in network expansion to deliver dividends to stakeholders and shareholders.
“This resilience is by design,” Asante explained. “We developed robust financial and operational models that allow MTN Ghana to manage its capital-intensive business while mitigating foreign exchange shocks. Collaborations with the central bank have enabled the procurement of equipment and the continuous expansion of our network even during challenging periods.”
Looking ahead, MTN Ghana is preparing for both favourable and adverse macroeconomic cycles, ensuring adaptability to fluctuations in global commodity prices and other external factors that could impact operations.
Accelerated infrastructure expansion
Mupita emphasised that 2026 would be a transformative year for network deployment.
In addition to the 500 new sites planned, MTN Ghana aims to address “urban creep,” where the rapid expansion of urban and peri-urban communities has led to network demand outpacing infrastructure availability.
The accelerated rollout is expected to improve service quality, particularly in regions where previous coverage gaps affected the overall customer experience.
The CEO also discussed the strategic rationale for reacquiring tower assets that were divested over a decade ago.
The telecom landscape has changed significantly since the initial sale, with market consolidation reducing the number of operators and increasing capacity requirements.
Owning critical infrastructure, including towers and data centres, is now seen as central to MTN’s long-term strategy, ensuring service quality, network resilience, and alignment with national development and security priorities.
The transformative potential of 5G
Mupita highlighted the impact that 5G could have on both households and enterprises in Ghana.
For consumers, 5G-enabled FWA can deliver high-speed broadband directly to homes, enabling self-sufficient digital communities.
For businesses and industries, private 5G networks have already proven successful in other countries such as South Africa, Zambia, and China, enhancing operational efficiency, logistics, safety, and productivity.
“These networks provide significant business-to-business opportunities, particularly in mining, logistics, and ports,” Mupita said.
“They also reinforce Ghana’s potential to support economic growth through improved connectivity.”
Artificial intelligence and operational transformation
AI emerged as a key theme during Mupita’s discussions.
MTN is deploying AI to optimise network operations, enhance customer engagement, detect revenue leakage, strengthen fraud prevention, and improve workforce productivity.
Regarding the impact of AI on jobs, Mupita expressed the view that while technological changes may alter certain roles, the overall expectation is that more jobs would be created than displaced, echoing historical parallels with the introduction of electricity, which ultimately expanded employment opportunities.
Expanding financial inclusion and remittance services
MTN Ghana also aims to expand remittance corridors, recognising the growing demand for seamless cross-border money transfers. Ghanaians living abroad can send money to their families efficiently and securely, supported by frameworks aligned with the Bank of Ghana’s regulatory guidance.
Investing in data centres and AI infrastructure
Mupita underscored MTN’s interest in investing in large-scale data centres, highlighting the need for reliable power, land, and cooling infrastructure.
Such investments are considered a natural extension of MTN’s digital infrastructure strategy and would support AI-driven initiatives, advanced fintech solutions, and broader national ambitions.
Youth empowerment and digital skills development
MTN is actively supporting Ghana’s youth by investing in digital skills programmes, including a US$2 million donation to the One Million Coders Programme. Other digital investments include robotics and ICT centres for schools, digital libraries and digital hubs to accelerate Ghana’s digital growth.
MTN’s goal is to empower young people to become innovators, content creators and entrepreneurs rather than mere consumers, enabling them to monetise their creativity and participate in global digital markets.
Mr Mupita emphasised that Ghana has abundant talent that, when supported with the right platforms and infrastructure, can drive socio-economic transformation.
A vision for Ghana’s digital future
Looking forward, Mr Mupita outlined ambitious expectations for 2026 and beyond.
He drew parallels with India’s rapid digital evolution, emphasising that Ghana has the talent and capacity to achieve accelerated development through digital infrastructure and inclusion.
MTN’s role, he stated, is to be a committed partner in Ghana’s journey over the next decade, ensuring that investments, technological innovation, and financial inclusion work in tandem to transform the country’s socio-economic landscape.
Wrapping up the visit, Mr Mupita described the two-day engagement as energising and inspiring.
He reaffirmed MTN’s commitment to deepening investment, strengthening partnerships, and driving Ghana’s digital transformation.
Asante echoed these sentiments, highlighting that continued adaptation to AI, digital innovation, and new business models would be critical to sustaining growth in the coming decade.
The overarching message from MTN leadership was unequivocal: Ghana is central to MTN Group’s future, and the company is dedicated to delivering world-class service, infrastructure, and technological innovation to its customers while supporting the nation’s digital transformation ambitions.
By ELVIS DARKO, Accra
