01 May 2019

MTN Group has announced a USD1billion divestment programme over the next three years that will slim down the continent’s biggest mobile phone operator and refocus it on high-growth markets in Africa and the Middle East.

Chief executive Rob Shuter, who joined MTN from Vodafone in 2017, has drawn up a turnaround plan that includes shedding loss-making e-commerce assets and exiting countries where MTN has little or no prospect of reaching second position by market share. Shuter is also pushing the company into different avenues, such as mobile financial services, music streaming and mobile gaming. The aim is to target a burgeoning young tech-savvy population to offset falling prices for basic telecoms services.

Founded in 1994, MTN has been one of South Africa’s biggest corporate success stories. However, clashes with regulators in Nigeria, Uganda and elsewhere in Africa have curtailed its growth.