MTN Group on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to Ghana, a market it has been investing in for over 25 years.

Since the beginning of operations in the market, the business has been integral to the economy of Ghana, focusing on enabling connectivity, inclusivity and socio-economic transformation through digital technologies.

Speaking from the MTN Headquarters in Johannesburg, Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said: “MTN remains excited and highly committed to Ghana as a market. To be sure, macroeconomic conditions are very challenging in the near term. That said we are focused on the medium and long term and we are seeing growth.”

He adds: “The crowding in of private long-term capital will support economic recovery efforts and spur growth in our view. We are here to play our part as a partner for socio-economic progress.”

MTN has a subscriber base of over 24 million and continues to drive significant growth numbers in data and mobile money.

In order to promote a thriving telecommunications industry, customers of Vodafone and AirtelTigo are able to remain connected across the country through roaming agreements with MTN where they do not have the infrastructure in place.

In addition, the Group recently opened a Customer Success Centre for MTN GlobalConnect’s pan-African operations which are phase one of our greater investments in Ghana and an opportunity to onshore digital skills into the market.

Mupita concludes: “We will invest an equivalent of $1 billion of capital expenditure over the next 5 years. We see 5G as a technology that could spur faster growth with industrial use cases in mining, agriculture, oil, ports, logistics and smart cities over time. There are short-term headwinds but the investment case for Ghana remains very compelling.”