Digitnomics 
Nigeria and Ghana are emerging as major cash engines for MTN Group, accounting for 67 per cent of the R13.9 billion the telecommunications giant upstreamed from its operating companies in the first half of 2026.
MTN Ghana contributed R6.6 billion to the group during the six months ended June 30, while MTN Nigeria contributed R2.7 billion. In comparison, MTN South Africa, the group’s home-market operation, contributed R2.1 billion.
The strong cash contribution from the two West African markets comes as MTN Group posted a significant improvement in its first-half performance, with growth in Nigeria, Ghana and other markets helping to offset slower growth in South Africa.
The group’s service revenue increased 17.5 per cent to about R115 billion, while EBITDA rose 24.4 per cent. Its EBITDA margin reached a record 47.6 per cent, while adjusted headline earnings per share increased 21.3 per cent to 793 cents.
For Nigeria, the figures show that the country’s importance to MTN is extending beyond its huge subscriber base. The Nigerian operation is increasingly contributing cash that can be deployed by the group to fund expansion, strengthen its balance sheet and support shareholder returns.
Nigeria’s digital economy lifts MTN
MTN Nigeria’s stronger performance is being driven by increasing demand for mobile data and digital services as consumers and businesses deepen their dependence on connectivity.
The wider MTN Group ended June with 317.7 million customers across its markets, while active data subscribers increased 9.1 per cent to 179.3 million. Data traffic also increased 22.8 per cent to 14.3 petabytes.
The numbers reinforce the growing shift in MTN’s business model from traditional voice services towards data and digital products.
At group level, data has become the largest contributor to service revenue, with data revenue growing strongly during the period. Fintech revenue also increased 13.3 per cent, while transaction value jumped 33.8 per cent to $330.5 billion.
This shift is particularly significant for Nigeria, one of MTN’s largest markets, where mobile connectivity is increasingly supporting digital payments, financial services, e-commerce, content consumption and other technology-enabled activities.
The Nigerian business is also operating under higher tariffs following the industry-wide adjustment approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission. The tariff increase has provided telecom operators with additional room to respond to rising operating costs and invest in network capacity.
West Africa takes a bigger role
Ghana’s R6.6 billion contribution was more than twice Nigeria’s R2.7 billion, showing that MTN’s stronger cash generation in West Africa is not dependent on the Nigerian market alone.
The performance of both markets, however, stands in sharp contrast to MTN South Africa.
South Africa’s service revenue increased by only 1.5 per cent in the first half, while EBITDA declined on a constant-currency basis. By comparison, EBITDA increased 38.7 per cent in Nigeria and 40 per cent in Ghana on a constant-currency basis.
The divergence is becoming increasingly important to MTN Group as growth markets outside South Africa provide a greater share of the cash required to fund the wider business.
MTN’s first-half cash upstreaming rose from R8.2 billion in the same period of 2025 to R13.9 billion in 2026. The company said the strong cash generation supported liquidity headroom of R39.1 billion at the end of June.
Stronger cash flow gives MTN more room
The improved cash position gives MTN greater flexibility as it invests in network expansion, technology infrastructure and digital services across its markets.
The group’s equity free cash flow increased 32.7 per cent during the period, while net debt-to-EBITDA remained at a relatively low 0.3 times.
MTN has also approved a R6 billion share buyback programme, signalling that stronger cash generation is giving the group room to combine investment with capital returns to shareholders.
The company is simultaneously making progress on its proposed transaction involving IHS Towers, with regulatory conditions still forming part of the remaining requirements for completion. In Nigeria, the regulatory approval requires MTN to reduce its stake in IHS Nigeria by up to 30 per cent over time.
What the numbers mean for Nigeria
Nigeria’s R2.7 billion upstream contribution is significant because it demonstrates how the country’s large telecommunications market is translating into cash generation for a multinational technology and connectivity company.
With data consumption continuing to expand and digital services becoming a larger part of MTN’s revenue mix, Nigeria’s role could become even more important as MTN seeks to grow beyond traditional voice and SMS services.
For the group, the changing balance between its markets also represents a strategic shift. South Africa remains the home market, but the latest numbers show that West Africa, led by Ghana and Nigeria, is becoming increasingly important to the cash that supports MTN Group’s wider growth strategy.
MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, said the first-half performance reflected the company’s ability to convert commercial momentum across its markets into stronger earnings, cash flow and returns.
“The Group’s overall performance in the period reflects strong conversion of the commercial momentum we see across our markets into growth in earnings, cashflow and returns,” Mupita said.
With Nigeria and Ghana together supplying nearly seven out of every 10 rand of upstream cash in the first half, MTN’s latest results underline the growing financial weight of its West African operations — and Nigeria’s continued importance to the group’s digital growth story.
