MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications provider, has announced plans to spin off its financial technology (fintech) operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda during the first half of 2025. This strategic move is part of a broader reorganization aimed at enabling Mastercard Inc. to acquire a minority stake in these fast-growing fintech units.
The announcement was made by MTN CEO Ralph Mupita during an interview with Bloomberg on Monday. According to Mupita, the spin-off will help streamline operations and create a more focused approach to expanding MTN’s fintech business across Africa.
The deal with Mastercard, initially struck in 2023, values MTN’s fintech business at $5.2 billion. Mastercard is expected to invest up to $200 million for a minority stake in the units. This partnership also includes commercial agreements aimed at accelerating the growth of MTN’s payments and remittance services.
In a statement released alongside the announcement of the deal, MTN noted: “Following the bespoke process to identify and potentially introduce strategic minority investors into MTN Group Fintech, we executed commercial agreements with Mastercard to support the acceleration and growth of our fintech business’s payments and remittance services.”
While the spin-off processes are progressing smoothly in Ghana and Uganda, Nigeria presents additional hurdles due to regulatory complexities. Mupita acknowledged these challenges but emphasized MTN’s commitment to completing the reorganization across all three markets.
“Nigeria has a bit more complexity with some more regulatory processes to work through,” Mupita said. Despite this, he expressed confidence in the company’s ability to finalize the restructuring.
Beyond its fintech ambitions, MTN is exploring network-sharing agreements as part of its strategy to optimize infrastructure costs and improve service delivery. This approach aligns with trends already prevalent in European markets.
MTN has also signaled confidence in its financial outlook despite posting a loss of 9.59 billion rand for the full year ended December 31, 2024, a figure lower than its estimated loss of 3.87 billion rand. The company announced a dividend payout of 3.45 rand per share for 2024 and plans to increase this to at least 3.70 rand per share for the current financial year.
The spin-off represents a significant milestone for MTN as it positions itself as a major player in Africa’s growing fintech sector. With mobile-money transactions rising by 35%, the company sees immense potential in leveraging its existing customer base and infrastructure to drive financial inclusion across the continent.
