MTN Ghana: Leading Telecom Player in Voice, Data and Mobile Financial Services

Interview with Samuel Addo, General Manager for MTN Business

What is your evaluation of the trends in the telecommunications sector in Ghana?

Ghana was one of the first African countries to deregulate and liberalize its telecommunications sector. In 1996, it privatized and instated its own Ghana Telecom. Immediately after that, there were quite a number of industry players that came into the country. Today, there are five players, for a total of 34.57 million subscribers. Comparing that number to our population is 119% penetration. 97% of the subscribers are prepaid and pay as you go, which is quite different from other parts of the world. We have about 56% broadband penetration. MTN has 55% of the market share. We lead in voice, data and mobile financial services.

Is Ghana one of the leaders in the African telecommunications sector?

There is a great opportunity for Ghana to lead in that sector. Telecommunication is evolving very fast. It has moved from a purely voice centric into more of a digital services area. Today, Ghana is at the forefront. Look at what Ghana has done with mobile financial services, which is a new trend in mobile telecommunication. Look at what we are doing in the digital space in terms of content, TV, games, music, educational material. Ghana is poised to take on that challenge.

As the GM for MTN Business, what are your key competitive advantages compared to other operations in Ghana? Why are you leading the industry?

Our market share clearly shows that we have the largest subscriber base. We also have the largest footprint of fiber across the country. We are leading in innovation. In mobile financial services, we have almost 90% of the market. We lead in terms of technology, innovation, customer experience, and across distribution footprints. Every ingredient that is needed to make a business successful, we have taken the time to work hard and assiduously to put on the ground and it is paying off.

How does the customer see the difference? You say that you are the leader, but how does that concretely satisfy the customer?

For 55% of the market to decide to be on our service, revenue generating every 30 days, speaks volumes. There are five other players. If the customers were not happy, they would have left. We make sure that our experience is superior at every touch point. We make sure that the technology itself is superior. Today, we are the only operator that has 2G, 3G, 4G, fiber, as well as mobile financial services. This gives the customer a wide array of choices, and all this comes together to make the customer decide to stay with us. That is why the customer keeps choosing us over the others.

What are some of MTN’s achievements?

MTN has 55% of the market share. We lead in voice, data and mobile financial services.

About eight years ago, MTN took the opportunity to innovate in the area of mobile financial services. At that time, the banking and financial sector was a bit cumbersome. Today, we have made that sector very easy for everyone. If you look at the transactions in that space, it is phenomenal. About 90% of Ghanaians are in that space. Innovations coming to the market such as fiber to the home, digital, 4G, video, all are being led by MTN. We are the first to put video on your mobile so that today, people can have TV on the go. All these innovations are making the customer very happy with us. They see MTN as the pace setter, as making their lives brighter, as leading the delivery of the bold new digital world.

What can you offer to businesses coming to Ghana?

The best choice for any business coming into Ghana is to be with MTN. We have the largest footprint of fiber, so we can connect you across the country geographically. In every part of the country, you are very safe with us. We have one of the largest and most modern data centers, so storage of your content is safe with us. We are linked to 22 other countries within our group, as well as the rest of the world. We will take care of you with our Global MPLS service. All the opportunities that you need to grow your business come with partnering with us.

What are the areas that you want to develop in terms of services?

Today, the world is going digital and that is a space where MTN wants to be at the forefront. We want to be seen more as a digital services provider. We want to partner with content providers. We want to make sure that people can automate their processes. This is the era of “the internet of things.” For everything that you can do, there is an app. We want to make it possible for people to be able to live in that space. We believe that everybody deserves the benefits of a modern, connected world, and that is what MTN brings to you.

How do you assess your impact in the country?

MTN has been at the forefront of developing this economy. In 2017, MTN paid 1.22 billion Ghana cedis to the government by way of levies and taxes. We have created about 500,000 jobs directly and indirectly. Through our corporate social initiatives, we have invested about 13 million USD. We are constantly helping to bring development to this country. We are in the educational, economic, and health sectors. By virtue of connecting people, we are making sure that life is lived in its true entirety, and that people do not have to go through challenges to do what they do on a normal basis because we can make their life simpler. For example, you can now have a meeting using video communication which saves you the travelling time and all the other challenges that come with it. We are making payments simple through our mobile financial services. We are bringing entertainment and education to your mobile. There are more people with mobile phones than those that have electricity in this country.

What are the challenges that MTN faces now?

We have three main challenges. One is the right of way. To be able to connect businesses and buildings, we need to be able to lead fiber optic cables. Usually, there is much bureaucracy to go through that process. This slows down our business and does not allow us to deliver in real time or in good time. We are constantly plagued with fiber cuts. The country is developing, and development comes with construction. Construction could be more coordinated so that people do not cut up our fibers and then disrupt our service. Even though our mobile financial services are growing in leaps and bounds, there are some unsavory people who are also using that platform to do things that are not very pleasant. Fraud is present in that space. We must constantly invest and get ahead of them because we cannot allow them to use our platform. Our business is heavily dependent on the US dollar because we have to import devices and equipment. If anything happens to the dollar, it impacts and changes our business plans and we have to readjust to it. Currently, in terms of policies and regulations, Ghana has two policies that impact us: the Communications Services Tax which is 6% and another is the National Fiscal Stabilization Levy. Those revenues could also have helped the business go in a certain direction.

Project yourself in two to three years’ time. What do you want MTN to be in the medium term? What is your vision?

In two to three years’ time, we believe that this country will have grown into a modern, connected world. A world where things and people are connected, and MTN will be at the forefront of it. A world which is digital and has all the benefits and things that make the first world what it is will happen in Ghana. We want to have seen this economy grow because we have made it possible by connecting people. We believe that we should be able to lead people into that bold, new, digital world.

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