MTN Group has crossed one of the most defining milestones in its history: more than 300 million people now use its services across Africa and the Middle East.
The group’s latest quarterly update, covering the period to September 30, 2025, shows a business gaining momentum across nearly all its markets, supported by improving economic conditions and a renewed drive to scale digital and financial services.
The performance was led by MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana, which delivered standout revenue growth and sustained customer additions.
MTN Nigeria, in particular, returned to positive retained earnings and restored its net equity position, allowing the company to resume dividends. This marks a major turnaround after several challenging years shaped by currency volatility and regulatory complexity.
MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita said the Group’s progress reflects both the resilience of its core operations and a sustained push to unlock growth in data, fintech and enterprise services.
He noted that reaching more than 300 million customers is both a symbolic and strategic achievement for the Group. He added that the milestone strengthens MTN’s commitment to expanding digital inclusion and creating pathways for broader socio-economic participation.
“We are excited to continue our work to connect Africa, providing leading digital solutions that will drive the continent’s digital transformation and socioeconomic progress,” said MTN Group CEO and president, Ralph Mupita.
A calmer macroeconomic climate added lift to MTN’s performance. Inflation softened across most of the company’s markets and currency movements showed more stability, particularly in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
Average blended inflation across the Group moderated to 13.3 percent, while the Ghanaian cedi strengthened year on year.
This stability created space for consumers and enterprises to spend more consistently, supporting growth across the Group’s commercial portfolio. MTN invested nearly R28 billion in network and platform capacity to keep up with demand, keeping its capital intensity within its long-term target.
The result was a broad and balanced quarter. Data traffic rose by 26.6 percent, mobile money transaction values increased by 38 percent to more than $342 billion, and Group service revenue expanded by 22.6 percent in constant currency.
Data and fintech continue to drive the ecosystem
Data remained the Group’s fastest-growing segment, with revenue up 35.4 percent and active data users increasing to nearly 166 million.
Demand remains buoyed by device penetration, home connectivity solutions and the rising use of video, online services and enterprise cloud applications.
Fintech also continued its strong trajectory. MTN’s mobile money ecosystem recorded solid growth despite competitive pressure in some markets.
The number of monthly active mobile money users rose to 64.3 million, driven by payment services, advanced wallet solutions and a growing pipeline of value-added financial tools. Fintech revenue grew 23.1 percent in constant currency.
Market highlights
- Nigeria and Ghana delivered the strongest growth, with Nigeria’s service revenue jumping 57.1 percent.
- South Africa’s business remained steady, recording modest growth in enterprise and postpaid, although prepaid performance remained under strain in a fiercely competitive environment.
- Subscriber numbers across the Group rose to 301.3 million, with data users and mobile money customers posting solid gains.
Strengthening balance sheet and network readiness
MTN ended the quarter with a strengthened balance sheet and healthy liquidity, supported by strong cash upstreaming from its operating companies. Net debt to EBITDA improved to 0.4 times, the strongest position the Group has reported in recent years.
The company also raised additional funding in October to reinforce its liquidity headroom and support future growth investments.
AI partnership with Microsoft sets new direction
In one of its most significant strategic moves this year, MTN announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to roll out AI-enabled learning and productivity tools across Africa.
The initiative is designed to deepen digital inclusion by giving students, small businesses and everyday citizens access to modern AI-driven digital capabilities. Pilot markets will go live in early 2026.
This partnership aligns with MTN’s broader ambitions to embed AI into its network, products and customer channels and to shift from being primarily a connectivity provider to a platform-driven digital powerhouse.
Encouraged by the year-to-date progress, MTN says it remains focused on recovering momentum in its South African prepaid segment, sustaining the strong growth in Nigeria and Ghana, and accelerating the structural separation of its fintech business.
The Group expects its Nigerian subsidiary’s recently declared interim dividend to further strengthen its financial position by the end of the year.
MTN will continue to invest in expanding capacity and modernising networks, with full-year capital expenditure expected to fall between R33 billion and R38 billion.
