MTN reveals $1.5trn investment into Nigeria

The chairman of the MTN Group, Mcebisi Jonas, claims that the organisation intends to invest $3.5 billion in the Nigerian economy over the course of the following five years and also pledges to raise an extra $1.5 trillion in foreign investment.

On Friday, July 7, Jonas delivered a speech in Abuja while leading a group of MTN representatives to a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House.

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Ralph Mupita, group president and chief executive officer of MTN, Ernest Ndukwe, chairman of MTN Nigeria, and Olutokun Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, attended the meeting.

Jonas said the new investment comes with the group’s broader vision of becoming a pan-African company by moving investments from the Middle East and focusing more on Africa, especially Nigeria, where it has been getting the highest return on investment.

He lauded Tinubu for what he considered the upswing of interest in the country within a short period since the President assumed office on May 29, 2023.

He promised to mobilise other investors to invest about $1.5 trillion in Nigeria, where he believed reforms had been styled to favour business and encourage inclusive development.

“The message you have given us is that Nigeria is investible, and with your election we are seeing decisive, prompt and keen interest in structural reforms,’’ the MTN Group chairman noted.

Tinubu, responding, assured the manufacturing and service sectors that more reforms would be unfolded to enable efficiency and attract investments, saying the ongoing economic ‘‘revolution’’ would be deliberately steered to capture and favour the teeming youths in the country.

He added, “We have a responsibility to revolutionize the economy so that our youths can share in the prosperity of the nation, otherwise we are only waiting for the dreams to be charted.

“If you have any problems or impediments, do let us know. We are ready to remove bottlenecks to investments in the economy,’’ the President noted while acknowledging the sweeping changes across the world, largely driven by technology.