MTN announces $1bn support for Digital Ghana Agenda
MTN Ghana has promised to spend a whopping $1 billion plus on network infrastructure and information systems (NIIS) over the next five years to support the Digital Ghana Agenda and position Ghana as leader of Africa’s digital transformation.
CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh announced this at MTN’s 25th Anniversary Dinner, where it hosted an august audience of various stakeholders from government, regulators, distributors, media, and business partners among others.
He also announced that MTN is working with government to supply an ICT Hub geared towards establishing West Africa’s first innovation city in Ghana, to ensure that the country plays its lead role in the the continent’s digital transformation journey as design by the Africa Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) principles.
“We recognize that the establishment of the AfCFTA is an acknowledgment of the role of digitization in the development of Africa, and that is why it has become even more important to achieve the Digital Ghana Agendam,” Selorm said.
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He noted that coming out of Covid, the demand for data has outpaced the supply of it and that has resulted in a data deficit that needs to be bridged to position Ghana well to lead play its leading role in AfCFTA.
“Our vision as a country to become a digital economy require heavy and consistent investment into technology and innovation in the next few years and it is on this score that MTN is committing to spend over US$1 billion in NIIS over the next five years, beginning this years to bridge that digital gap and ensure the achievement of the digital economy,” he said.
Expanding on the ICH Hub promise, he said the hub will enable to government to provide ICT training to thousands of young people in the country and beyond, promote SME digital innovation and create new ideas and will also be a reason for many more technology giants, beyond Twitter, into Ghana and that will present even bigger opportunities to Ghanaians.
25 years of brightening lives
Touching on the achievement of MTN over the last 25 years, the MTN Ghana CEO said MTN currently employs 2,500 Ghanaians, serves over 25 million customers and provides many innovative solutions to corporates and SMEs.
He said MTN has also enabled over 30% of Ghanaians to be digitally and financially included, created over 500,000 indirect jobs and also contributes six per cent of government’s tax revenue every year, making it the highest taxpayer in the country.
“In a bid to live by tagline “everywhere you go”, we has democratized trading on the stock exchange through our IPO that has brought over 127,000 Ghanaians from all over the country into the capital market for the first time in the history of the Ghana Stock Exchange,” the CEO said.
Selorm said MTN has also invested in supporting the communities within which it operate, and has delivered 158 projects in health, education and economic empowerment, impacting over four million Ghanaians to date.
To mark the 25th anniversary, the company has introduced a loyalty rewards promo for both customers and staff; customers getting several prizes including 25 Hyundai Sonatas, while workers also got their share, including a Hyundai SUV and the longest service staff of MTN, Cynthia Adokwei who has been with the company from day one.
More social investments
The CEO said MTN is not stopping there because in the coming year, the MTN Ghana Foundation has approved a significant GHS9 million for the construction of a 160-bed high tech maternity and neonatal center for the Keta Municipal Hospital in the Volta Region.
“This will be the first of its kind in the Volta Region,” he said.
He said the Foundation has also approved GHS1.2 million to build a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) robotic lab at the Mamphe Girls High School as an expression of MTN’s commitment to ICT training among the youth, particularly girls.
“Mamphe Girls participated in the national and international robotics competition and won several laurels in the process so for their sterling performance we are supporting them in this way,” he said.
Selorm Adadevoh urged all industry stakeholders to join hands with MTN to cross many more milestones over the next 25 years for the benefit of the country.
