Industry News

MTN Ghana Foundation, in collaboration with Holland Greentech Ghana, marked this year’s International Day of Rural Women (IDRW) with some female farmers in the Greater Accra Region.

Celebrated on 15th October every year, the IDRW aims to acknowledge the critical role and contribution of rural women including- Indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security, and eradicating rural poverty.

Additionally, it is to congratulate the rural female farmers for their hard work and to introduce to them some modern technologies used in farming.

Mrs Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Office, MTN Ghana Foundation, in an interview with media at the event said, the drive formed part of the telecom giant’s commitments towards empowering women in agriculture through technology.

According to her, it was crucial to support women in farming- as the country depended on small holder farmers. “Planting foodstuff in your backyard will help reduce the cost of food buying in homes,” she added.

While accentuating the importance of agribusiness, Mrs Wiafe urged women, particularly the youth in agriculture to leverage modern technology in order to boost production. Additionally, she encouraged all to add farming to their day-to- day activities to ensure food security.

Mr. Charles Agyeman, General Manager of Defarmercist Limited, emphasized the need to use modern technologies in farming, explaining that the new irrigation systems allow farmers to water and fertilize their plants effortlessly. “Women in farming were taken through modern farming technologies, proper ways of applying fertilizers and usage of chemicals to improve their yields,” he added.

Mrs. Ami Christell Gle, a farmer who benefited from past projects, underscored the importance of modern farming systems, such as- the innovative drip irrigation system and how it had helped her grow her yields. She called on all women in farming to adopt and use these new methods and technologies in farming to reduce costs.

Beneficiaries of the project expressed profound gratitude to MTN Ghana Foundation for the initiative. This year’s participants are expected to share the knowledge with other farmers in their respective communities.

Source: Buertey Francis BORYOR (B & FT online)

MTN Group has announced the election of its President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, to the GSM Association Board of Directors for the 2025-2026 term.

The operator said in a statement obtained on Friday that the appointment highlighted MTN’s dedication to enhancing connectivity across Africa and advancing the continent’s economic, social, and digital transformation goals.

As an advocate for leveraging technology to drive economic growth and inclusion, telcos stated that Ralph’s focus on the board would be on driving the African agenda.

The focus, the firm said, included the G6 commitments of closing the usage and coverage gaps, increasing investments, and securing a climate-smart future.

The company noted that his participation on the board would be instrumental in harnessing the potential of mobile technology to support sustainable development and economic growth.

“I am honored to join the GSMA board at a time of rapid developments in technology and increasing digital adoption across Africa,” Mupita stated.

He emphasised, “Mobile technology will play a critical role in addressing the pressing challenges facing our communities and unlocking the full potential of Africa, ensuring that no one is left behind in this journey toward a more connected future.”

The GSMA is a non-profit industry organization representing the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.

Source: Justice Okamgba (Punch NG)

Bernard Acquah, Chief Investment Officer at MTN Ghana, has emphasized the importance of cybersecurity awareness in today’s digital age. Mr Acquah highlighted the need for individuals to adopt a “living with security” mindset to protect their digital identity. He said this during an MTN Ghana’s Bright Conversation on Cybersecurity Awareness at the MTN House in Accra.

“Living with security means being security conscious in all aspects of life, just like locking doors and windows at home,” Mr Acquah explained. He stressed that this mindset should extend to cybersecurity, where individuals must guard their personal information and be cautious of potential threats.

Mr Acquah identified common risks in failing to practice cybersecurity hygiene as WhatsApp hacks, mobile phone vulnerabilities, and identity theft. He advised individuals to enable two-factor authentication, use stronger passwords and regularly change them (every 3 months), and regularly update their operating systems to stay protected.

He urged Ghanaians to be cautious with personal information online, especially on social media, use reputable antivirus software and enable auto-updates, regularly review and adjust privacy settings, update operating systems to ensure security patches and efficiency, and utilize products like MTN’s Midnight Bundles to update devices without excessive data usage.

Protection Against Phishing:

Mr Acquah also warned institutions and businesses about phishing scams, where attackers send links or emails that appear legitimate but aim to steal personal information. To protect themselves, he advised them to be cautious of emails or messages that seem too good to be true, verify sender addresses by hovering over links or checking email addresses and avoid rushing into actions prompted by urgent or enticing messages.

He also noted that parents were responsible for building a culture of cybersecurity at home.

“Parents should model good cyber behavior, educate children on online safety, privacy, and cyber bullying, use platforms that offer content control and monitoring tools, and teach children to be mindful of online activities and information sharing,” Mr Acquah added.

Source: Business Ghana

MTN Ghana has held one of its business series, the MTN Executive Business Breakfast, at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.

The event, held under the theme, “Bridging The Skills Gap, ” was aimed at strengthening MTN’s partnerships with businessmen and women.

The event was used to discuss possible ways to find solutions to the skills gap that threatens Ghana’s global competitiveness.

It brought together industry leaders, members of academia, government officials and young business executives to discuss critical issues of workforce development in Ghana, particularly in the tech industry.

This edition featured top business personalities such as the Acting Chief Human Resources Officer of the MTN, Mr Abdellah Ibrahim, Managing Director of Unilever Ghana, Chris Wulff-Caesar and the Executive Director of the Centre for Leadership at Ashesi University, Dr Esi Ansah as panelists.

The panelists discussed the critical role of small and medium-sized enterprises in driving economic growth.

Source: David Andoh ( My JoyOnline)

Chief Executive of Telecel Ghana, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai, has called for an integration of purpose-driven strategies and sustainable practices in businesses to make more socio-economic impact.

Speaking during a panel at the 7^th annual Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit in New York on the theme, ‘Shared Planet, Shared Future, Shared Purpose – Building Future-Fit Economies for Generations to Come,’ Ing. Obo-Nai advised business leaders to prioritise purpose and social impact in their operations.

“A purpose-driven culture is essential for organisational success. Viewing purpose as a waste of investment is a risk to business sustainability. We must invest in developing our host communities, up-skilling the people we work with, be interested in how we grow technological resources in our communities and how we engage local people in employment,” she said.

Highlighting the role of technology in sustainable development, she articulated the critical need for expanding connectivity infrastructure through collaboration to bridge the digital divide.

“Expanding infrastructure and making it future proof is critical. We believe participating in infrastructure sharing and co-investment programmes are some of the most effective ways to close the existing digital gap,” she said.

As Telecel seeks to lead Africa’s digital transformation, Ing. Obo-Nai said improving access to digital connectivity has a much broader impact.

“Our belief is that we can empower people to use digital products and services to better their lives and businesses. So, it’s not just about how we connect businesses or digitalise business processes, but how we empower people’s lives through digital solutions.”

Source: Daily Guide Network

Mauritanian mobile phone company Mattel announced last week the completion of a two-year telecom network expansion campaign. The initiative allows the telecom operator to improve its network coverage in a country that has a network coverage score of 43.3 out of 100, according to the Global Mobile Connectivity Index 2023 of the Global Association of Mobile Phone Operators (GSMA).

The project was carried out in two phases. The first, completed in November 2023, focused on strengthening the network in 266 sites. The second, finalized in September 2024, expanded the network to 217 additional sites, covering all regional capitals and districts in the country. In addition, Mattel strengthened the coverage of five major road axes in Mauritania.

“  Mattel has also actively contributed to the implementation of the national universal access strategy, by ensuring the operation of the network dedicated to covering the southern border area of ​​the country with telephone and Internet services, ranging from the Ndiago region to Ould Yengé  ,” the company added in a statement.

According to the GSMA, 96.7% of Mauritania’s 4.93 million inhabitants are covered by the 2G network. The 3G and 4G networks cover 72% and 12% of the Mauritanian population respectively. In terms of usage, Mauritania had 5.4 million subscribers for a penetration rate of 124% according to the latest available statistics from the Regulatory Authority (ARE). However, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) indicates that the rate of people owning a mobile phone in the country is 61.3%.

By expanding its network coverage, Mattel is positioning itself to capture a share of the Mauritanian population still deprived of telecom services. This potential clientele could strengthen its competitiveness in a market where Mauritel, a subsidiary of Maroc Telecom, dominated with a 52% market share as of September 30, 2023. Although current figures for Mattel and its other competitor, Chinguitel, are not available, the latest data from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Administrative Reform dating from 2019 give them 21% and 27% market shares, respectively. Mauritel’s market share has remained stable since then.

Source: Agency EcoFin

MTN Group’s president and CEO, Ralph Mupita, has been elected to the GSMA board of directors for the 2025-2026 period.

The GSM Association is a non-profit industry organisation representing the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.

Africa’s largest telecom operator announced Mupita’s appointment today, saying it demonstrates MTN’s commitment to being an integral participant in connecting the continent while also furthering Africa’s economic, social, and digital transformation aspirations.

MTN Group offers voice, data, fintech, digital, enterprise, wholesale, and API services to 288 million people across 18 markets.

Regarding the appointment of its chief executive officer, MTN states: “As an advocate for leveraging technology to drive economic growth and inclusion, Ralph’s focus on the board will be on driving the African agenda, particularly in relation to the G6 commitments of closing the usage and coverage gaps; increasing investments; and securing a climate-smart future.”

It adds that his presence on the board will be instrumental in harnessing the potential of mobile technology to support sustainable development and economic growth.

Mupita comments: “I am honoured to join the GSMA board at a time of rapid developments in technology and increasing digital adoption across Africa

“Mobile technology will play a critical role to address the pressing challenges facing our communities and unlock the full potential of Africa, and ensuring that no one is left behind in this journey toward a more connected future.”

Source: IT Web

Huawei Technologies has launched its latest OpenLab in Egypt as part of its effort to engage with partners and help to build an “ICT ecosystem” in Northern Africa “in response to industry digital transformation.”

The aim of Huawei’s OpenLab strategy is to attract customers and partners that are ready to collaborate in the development of new applications, services and technology. The new facility, based in Cairo, is the eighth OpenLab in total and the second in Africa, following the opening of a facility in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier this year. (See Joburg In Line to Host OpenLab.)

Huawei held a ceremony to launch the Cairo OpenLab during the Cairo ICT 2017 conference.

The other six are located in Suzhou (near Shanghai), Munich, Mexico City, Singapore, Dubai and Bangkok. According to Huawei, the OpenLabs have become “centers for joint innovation, development, verification, and expertise for customers and partners, including collaborative development with more than 400 solution partners.”

The Cairo OpenLab is situated in the city’s Smart Village and has been operating as a research and development (R&D) facility for the past year. It is currently 400 square meters in size and is set to expand to more than 1,000 square meters during the next two years.

It is focused on developments related to public safety, smart grid, smart city, smart government and smart education, and operates through four functional centers: partner development center; solution joint innovation center; talent training and certification center; and industry experience center.

“We established the OpenLab in Cairo so that we can make full use of the advantages of Egypt and serve all of Northern Africa,” said Ni Zheng, president of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Northern Africa Region. The advantages of Egypt’s capital are that “the ICT industry market in Cairo is relatively mature and its marketing capabilities influence surrounding countries,” and that “Egypt recognizes the significance of industrial digital transformation, and the local industry chain ecosystem supports this transition for a number of industry enterprises,” said Zheng, who added that the education system in Egypt is “relatively well developed.”

Huawei held a ceremony to launch the Cairo OpenLab during the recent Cairo ICT 2017 conference.

Source: www.connectingafrica.com

Takoradi, Oct. 19, GNA – The MTN Ghana says it is taking steps to transition to eco-friendly and sustainable energy systems to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve net zero by 2040.

Madam Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe, Chief Corporate Service and Sustainability Officer at MTN, said the company gave priority to the sustainability of the environment in which it operated, thus, working towards reducing its carbon emissions as part of its climate actions.

She said this, in Takoradi, during a media and stakeholder forum, organised for Editors in the Western Region by MTN Ghana.

The forum was to brief participants on the corporate services of the Company,

successes and challenges as well as seek feedback on how to better improve their services and products.

Madam Wiafe stated that MTN’s sustainability framework was anchored on four pillars namely: “Doing for planet”, “Doing for society”, governance, and socio-economic development.

“So when it comes to the reduction of our carbon footprint, we are looking at our data centres. We are converting our energy sources to solar, and in cases where we are not able to immediately transition to solar, we are replacing them with more energy efficient equipment,” she said.

She continued: “In our offices as well, we

are converting to energy-efficient appliances to reduce our carbon footprint. Our ambition at MTN is to achieve net zero by 2040 and that is what we are working towards.”

On the social side of the Company’s sustainability strategies, Madam Wiafe noted that MTN Ghana aimed to have 50

per cent of its workforce being women as means of promoting diversity and inclusion.

The trends of Gov Data Source Bank

On some of their achievements over the years, she said the firm through the MTN Ghana Foundation had invested some GHC106.5 million into 166 social projects that had impacted about 4.5 million lives directly and indirectly.

The projects are 90 education, 55 health, 15 economic empowerment interventions, and six community support initiatives, she said.

She said customer experience was important to MTN, and gave the assurance that they would continue to invest in the best technological infrastructure to enhance services to customers.

Mr Teddy Hayford-Acquah, South West Technical Manager of MTN Ghana, noted that one of the company’s major challenge was fibre cut which intermittently disrupted services connectivity.

He mentioned that the issue was mainly due to activities of road contractors, private developers, and small-scale miners

among others which cost the company millions of cedis to fix.

He said: “Within this year, we have repaired about 40 kilometres of fibre due to cuts from road construction and other activities in the Western Region. When fibre is taken out, you can see the pressure that comes into the system.”

Mr Hayford-Acquah, therefore, appealed to journalists to advocate against destroying fibre cables, saying, the country’s digitalisation agenda could only thrive when fibre optic cables were protected from damages.

GNA