Rewane: MTN’s Investment in Nigeria Has Impacted Businesses, Economy
Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, speaks about MTN’s investment in Nigeria’s telecoms sector in the last 25 years and the impact on Nigerian businesses, the Nigerian economy among other issues. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:
Today MTN is celebrating 25 years of consistent telecommunications service delivery in Nigeria. What has been the impact of its service delivery on the Nigerian economy since 2001when it rolled out its commercial services?
In 2000, Nigeria had 250,000 fixed lines which belonged to the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), a state-owned company that operated a monopolistic market. The worst monopolies in the world are state-owned because of the control price and control output. Nigeria went from a state-owned monopoly to a private monopoly, when MTN launched in 2001. From a private monopoly, you can have a duopoly and oligopoly, and all these have to do with few suppliers and very many buyers, which puts the buyers of the commodity the mercy of the producer. So, that’s where Nigeria started from.
From 250,000 fixed lines in 2000, Nigeria can boast of over 170 million active lines across all networks as at today, with MTN leading in market share of over 96 million subscribers on its network, which is about 52 per cent market share.
Again, in 2000, teledensity was was 0.4 per cent, but that has grown to 79 per cent today. At that time, the total investment was about $500 million. but today, the combined investments in the telecoms sector are over $75 billion. At that time, financial transactions were only carried out in the baking hall. If someone had an emergency at that time, at about 3pm and the person needed money, the person would have to wait till the next day when the banking hall is opened, to carry out any financial transaction. But today, all that have changed, as Nigerians can now transact from their mobile phones, from the comfort of their homes and offices at any time of the day, including weekends. Again, cash was carried physically from one location to another by bank customers, but today cash can be transferred electronically, thereby removing the risk of carrying physical cash, which have greatly impacted the Nigerian economy.
Back in 2000, communication was hectic as people go and queue at NITEL exchange to make calls or at telephone kiosks to make calls. People travel long distances to make and receive calls, sometimes it takes days for calls to connect, but today, with GSM that was introduced by MTN and other mobile telecoms operators, it has become a lot easier to communicate with the mobile handsets.
Stock market capitalisation, based on consumer spend on recharge cards and airtime for communication as at 2000, was between N2 trillion and N3 trillion, but that has increased today to over N160 trillion, which is a great impact on the Nigerian economy. MTN alone accounts for 10.91 per cent of total market capitalisation.
By the time MTN listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, market capitalisation rose to between N3 trillion and N4 trillion, and MTN alone accounted for actually 11 per cent of total market capitalisation. So, of the N160 trillion, MTN alone has N16 trillion market capitalisation. Customer dividend payout since MTN listed has grown to between 500 per cent and 600 per cent. In the past five years, MTN has paid out a trillion Naira in dividends to shareholders.
At a time when most operators were finding it difficult to come to Nigeria to invest, MTN took the bull by the horns and invested in Nigeria. For 25 years,
what has been the impact of MTN communication services delivery on the Nigerian government?
MTN as a company has paid tax as much as N647 billion naira, which is about 20 or 25 per cent of what all the state governments share in one month. That’s one company. So, if that company does not pay tax, what will be shared will be reduced by almost 20 per cent.
As at today, the economic growth of the telecoms sector is about 14 per cent, and that is when the Nigerian economy itself is growing by four per cent and we are clapping. 14 per cent is almost four times what the economy is growing. So, if a sector is growing at four times the economic growth, it shows that it has outperformed the economy and has impacted government in a great way. But what is more important is that this same sector, MTN as a company, is growing its revenue at about almost 40 to 45 per cent.
The company is outperforming the sector by almost 300 per cent, three times now, but in market share analysis, we say that a company that has about 40 per cent market share is described as a dominant player.
A leading player is 20 per cent, and anything below 20 per cent, can be described as a good player. So, MTN is considered as a dominant player. So, whatever it does has a more than corresponding impact on the rest of the economy and the government as a whole, either in terms of employment, linkages, or outcomes. So, MTN, and to a limited extent, its nearest competitor, which is Airtel, has great impact on the economic outcomes for the country.
If the telecoms sector contributes only 14 per cent to GDP, it means that if MTN, Airtel, and Globacom shut down their services today, in nominal terms, it means that the economy will collapse.
What has been the impact of MTN services on Nigerians for 25 years?
There’s what Economists call the unbalanced growth theory, which means that if there are five or six sectors growing, the unbalanced growth theory tells you that if I take one sector and drive it more than the others, because of its momentum, it will pull others along with it.
But if the gravity of the lagging sectors is higher than that of the moving sectors, it will bring the economy down. So, we think that the telecom sector, because of its linkages, is one of those that benefited more from the unbalanced growth theory.
So, if we shut down the oil wells today, and we don’t export one barrel within one week, we will not have any foreign exchange to pay for anything. The country will come right to a halt. So, just like I said, the jobs that MTN alone has created, is enormous and far beyond MTN employees in Nigeria.
It is the people working in the sectors that are driven by the unbalanced growth. So, if you take the banking sector, for example, the banking sector has grown big with the support of telecoms revolution. MTN and other telcos have evolved from telecommunication services into critical economic infrastructure and catalysts of growth. Banking and financial services, POS, mobile money, and fintech services have grown over the years.
Opay’s total transactions, way back in the day, was almost N641 billion in 2023, but total value of Opay’s transactions today is N1.645 trillion. Moniepoint does about N1.4 trillion every day.
Broadband penetration moved from37 per cent in 2019, to 56 per cent in 2026, with internet subscribers reaching 157 million. The velocity of money, which is the number of times that money turns around is huge. So, Money without velocity that is kept without use, does no good to anybody. If the money is not spent, then it doesn’t create jobs. So, we call that the velocity of circulation of money.
Today, more Nigerians transact outside the banking halls, using PoS terminals, which has invariably created jobs for several Pos vendors.
In 2016, banking sector contribution to real growth was minus four per cent. Guess what, in 2025, the banking sector and financial services, that includes Opay and Moniepoint, now contribute 14.36 per cent.
What has been the impact of MTN on trade and commerce in the past 25 years?
Trade and commerce, which is the engine of growth is largely driven by telecommunications and MTN in particular that has enabled online trading on various online platforms. Today everybody is a trader because they sell or buy things online, driven largely by MTN and other telecoms operators.
Trade and commerce were growing at –0.24 in the past, but have grown to 1.77 today, which is almost 900 per cent range growth from trade and commerce alone.
How has MTN impacted the education, manufacturing sectors and election processes in the last 25 years?
The manufacturing sector growth in the past was -4. Just like banking, but today, manufacturing has grown to 1.5. So, manufacturing has grown because of this by almost 300 per cent.
Growth in education was 1.35 per cent in 2016, but today it has grown to 2.35 per cent, and has has almost doubled. Telecommunications and MTN in particular, has supported online learning and computer-based examinations, where results are released digitally in short time.
With the introduction of electronic voting, if well implemented, will reduce vote buying, snatching of ballot boxes and manipulation of election results.
How has MTN impacted the health sector through telemedicine in the last 25 years?
Today medical doctors consult and carry out surgeries through telemedicine. Patients can see medical doctors online and get medical prescriptions without going to a physical hospital. Again, solar power, from what I understand, and from what the doctors say is that any hospital that has solar energy that the number of deaths from surgery or any intervention reduces by almost 30 to 40 per cent. Because if you are carrying out surgery, then there’s no generator. End of story.
So, growth in telemedicine has moved from 3.72 per cent to 9.02 per cent, and currently at 300 per cent.
How has MTN impacted the agricultural sector, including media and entertainment in the last 25 years?
The media and entertainment sector have grown from 3.72 per cent to 9.02 per cent. Telecoms has very limited impact on agriculture, which grew by four per cent in 2016 and dropped to three per cent in subsequent years.
The sectors that depend on technology and power, have grown tremendously, as the growth speaks for itself.
How has innovation, built on telecoms network, supported the growth of the banking sector in the 25 years of service delivery by MTN?
Innovation and creativity are functions of digital innovation. Today, we talk about emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, 5G, and Internet of Things (IOTs). These technologies, driven by telecommunications operators, which MTN is at the forefront, have greatly supported innovation in the financial sector and other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
MTN has the largest investment in the network, in digital equipment, in 5G, and therefore there is a time lag between when you invest and when you get the returns on investment.
Today, Fintech companies are innovating and developing tech solutions that have largely supported the growth the banking sector in the area of payment and financial transactions.
How will you describe investments in the telecoms sector in the last 25 years and what has been the impact on businesses?
The total IT spend by telcos in the Nigerian economy was in excess of $3 billion dollars, in 2026, and this is different from actual investment. Every year, telecoms companies invest in excess of $1 billion to $2 billion. But Nigerians only look at their profits in their yearly financial reports, without considering their investments, by way of taxes they remit to government yearly.
The day that MTN made a decision in South Africa to invest in Nigerian telecoms sector, and paid $286 million for telecoms license in 2001, its share price in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange dropped sharply because investors were afraid that MTN made a wrong decision to invest in Nigeria. But after one year, when they saw the number of subscribers on the MTN network in Nigeria, the same investors were marveled and praised MTN’s courage to invest in Nigeria’s telecoms sector.
In 2015, NCC slammed MTN Nigeria with a penalty of $8 billion for SIM card irregularities and violation, at a time when the market capitalisation of MTN in the New York Stock Exchange was about almost $11 billion dollars. So essentially, Nigeria fined MTN almost 80 per cent of its market capitalisation.
In 25 years, MTN has paid taxes to the federal government in billions of Naira, that have impacted the Nigerian economy.
For the average young businessman that is looking into the future, what would you say is the biggest business lesson that he can learn from the past 25 years of MTN investment in Nigeria?
Every young businessman must learn to be consistent and have business resilience and the ability to take good risk in business like MTN did when it invested in Nigeria with its attendant risks, which other global telecoms operators could not dare to do.
Which area of the Nigerian economy would you say MTN has invested the more in the last 25 years?
I think MTN has invested more in network connectivity and network expansion in terms of infrastructural development.
Despite the investment in infrastructure, MTN is the most harassed network by social miscreants that frequently damage MTN facilities at will. I am happy about the Critical National Infrastructure and Information Bill that seeks to protect telecoms infrastructure. Such Bill should be signed into law and fully implemented across the county to protect telecoms infrastructure.
