Telecom Sector: What Makes MTN Uganda Stand Out From the Competition?

Charles Mbire, Chairman of MTN Uganda, explains what is the company’s main competitive advantage and how MTN stands out from the competition.

“MTN was started 20 years ago in Uganda. Because of the many wars this country had seen, there was a vacuum that we call “negative tele density growth”. That vacuum was filled by a mobile telecom company that was very expensive. Their business plan was based on postpaid which was not the right product for this market. We came in, did our research, and we realized that prepaid is the secret for success in Uganda. We launched with our prepaid products that were affordable and we took over the Ugandan market. We packaged our products based on the demand of the Ugandan market. That was our competitive advantage. We knew Africa. Our package from the very beginning was Ugandan friendly. That has led our growth, our expansion, and our success. We have never imported business plans from outside, but rather we have made them in Uganda”, says Charles Mbire.

“We realize that the products are always changing. A month in telecom is a generation. You have to keep up the pace with your R&D to research and understand what the market needs, what is adaptable, and what is affordable. You must know the direction of the demand and the supply of the products on the market and most importantly, acceptability. Right now, the uptake average age is getting lower and lower. Your product offering must address that. There is gaming, education, banking, security, medical. Telecom is no longer just voice and SMS. It has expanded into other fields. We must now start to choose and segment the fields we want to be in. We are now diversifying away from infrastructure headaches like towers and other areas that we cannot manage and we are outsourcing them. We must remain focused on our core areas in the industry so that we can perfect them. We want to find the areas where we have proper advantages”, he adds.

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