MTN has outlined plans to accelerate economic development in Africa through increased utilisation of 5G technologies in mining and other key business and consumer areas.
It came during the recent Uganda - South Africa Investment and Trade Summit held at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, on 5-6 September, 2023. Hosted by the Ugandan government, the top-level event aims to strengthen bilateral investment and mobilise higher levels of private sector investments into priority sectors in Uganda.
The summit focused on a number of sectors the two governments have identified as important for their future economic co-operation including ICT, agriculture, agro-processing, mining, tourism and manufacturing. Led by SA Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister, Nomalungelo Gina, a high-level trade delegation representing over 65 South African businesses attended the summit.
Key among these was event sponsor MTN, with a number of senior-level executives present, including MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas, MTN Group President & CEO Ralph Mupita, Group Senior Vice President: Markets Ebenezer Asante, Group Vice President: Southern and East Africa Yolanda Cuba, Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo, and MTN Uganda CEO, Sylvia Mulinge.
MTN’s technology partner Huawei was also present, holding a number of demonstrations showcasing its innovative practices in 5G to Business and 5G to Consumer. These spanned applications for a range of industries, including 5G for agriculture, 5G for healthcare, 5G for mining, as well as innovative business and consumer-oriented applications such as 360 Live Broadcast, and 5G AR Glasses.
MTN is an established leader in Africa, providing voice, data, fintech, digital, enterprise, wholesale and API services to more than 292 million customers in 19 markets. To date, MTN has announced 5G networks in 6 countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Sudan. According to the MyBroadband Insights Q2 2022 Mobile Network Quality Report, MTN South Africa is ranked number one for speed and network quality. In its largest market, Nigeria, MTN operates over 700 5G sites offering coverage in 13 cities. MTN’s target is to increase 5G coverage to 40% of Nigeria’s population by 2025.