Tag: MTN Group

MTN Group has taken up a call to action from Nigeria to support the collection of datasets of African languages. These are required to develop the continent’s own large language models (LLM) to power AI-driven solutions for Africa’s 1.5 billion people, who otherwise risk being sidelined by the global AI ecosystem.

Speaking on ‘The Y’ello Chair Vodcast: Your link to the African continent’, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani said to leapfrog AI in Africa, a collaborative public/private effort was urgently needed to fund the academic research into the continent’s many languages. He challenged MTN Group – which has operations in 16 markets, 15 of them in Africa – to mobilise resources for this.

“We like these kinds of partnerships. Challenge accepted,” said MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita in the vodcast, which was filmed on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. It was hosted by Angela Wamola, who is the head of sub-Saharan Africa for the GSMA mobile industry association.

The vodcast followed the launch of the Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS). This is an open-source multilingual LLM designed to understand and generate Nigeria’s diverse voices, digitising and preserving the country’s linguistic richness and creating datasets for AI solutions.

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More than 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country.

N-ATLAS is a public/private initiative of the government of Nigeria and Awarri Technologies.

The ATLAS framework is open and available to other African countries, providing a platform for innovation in local languages and in so doing, transform education, health, commerce and governance.

“We have to avoid the risk of Africans being a digital underclass,” Mupita said of the work to ensure that citizens didn’t feel excluded on the continent where there are more than 2 000 languages and most are poorly represented in the global AI ecosystem.

He said the digital economy was the “best bet” to ensure that citizens have dignity, hope and opportunity.

 “The outcomes we want are that people are digitally included, economically included and that they have dignity. This dignity point for me is very important because poverty can include all sorts of indignity, but embracing technology should take all that away,” he said.

The Y’ello Chair Vodcast is a platform where leaders and changemakers share insights, challenge norms, and drive Africa’s digital future. For episode 2, see here [insert link once vodcast is uploaded].

The Chairman of MTN Group, Mcebisi Jonas, has identified infrastructure gaps, spectrum allocation and handset affordability as the biggest obstacles to Africa’s digital transformation.

He noted these during an interactive session with participants of the Media Innovation Programme (MIP) cohort 4, during their study tour to Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to Jonas, Nigeria has made progress on spectrum availability but other markets still faced serious challenges.

He stressed that affordable, 5G-compatible devices remained out of reach for many consumers across the continent.

“The device problem is also a cost problem. We are working with global partners to make handsets more affordable, but regulatory support will also be important,” he said.

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Jonas noted that MTN has made significant investments in Nigeria and Ghana, but security risks and energy shortages continue to raise operational costs.

Many towers, he said, still relied on diesel generators due to weak power infrastructure, calling for faster reforms in the energy sector and more community involvement in safeguarding telecom assets.

On policy, Jonas welcomed the steady improvement in regulatory frameworks across Africa, describing most governments as “aligned with us on improving digital access and financial inclusion.”

He however warned that sluggish economic growth often pushed governments into overregulation, stifling investment and innovation.

Continuing, Jonas highlighted the importance of retaining talent in Africa, linking it to safety, governance, and better working conditions.

“It’s not that there’s no talent. The challenge is keeping/retaining talent in the continent,” he stressed.

Jonas further underscored Nigeria’s leadership in digital content and innovation, adding that MTN was expanding investments in content creation and local tech stacks to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. On data governance, he assured that MTN prioritises sovereignty and security in its partnerships, especially as AI-driven data demand surges.

Looking ahead, Jonas said Africa must embrace flexibility in a shifting multipolar world order while leveraging its own resources for growth. “The digital economy, AI, and local content development present the biggest opportunities for Africa in the next decade,” he added.

South African mobile operator MTN Group said yesterday it was under United States investigation over its activities in Iran and Afghanistan, at a time of icy ties between Washington and Pretoria.

Africa’s biggest telecoms company is already facing court challenges in South Africa by Turkey’s Turkcell, which accuses it of winning the Iranian market through corruption.

In 2006, MTN was chosen over Turkcell to become the 49 percent minority shareholder in Iranian government-controlled mobile phone carrier Irancell.

MTN had been made aware of a US Department of Justice (DoJ) grand jury investigation relating to its former subsidiary in Afghanistan and Irancell, the company said in a statement.

“MTN is cooperating with the DoJ and voluntarily responding to requests for information,” said the statement accompanying the group’s financial results.

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Grand juries typically decide whether or not to formally lay charges in a case and take it to trial.

The South African multinational is also facing a court case in the United States from US veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as relatives of soldiers killed in action, the statement said.

“The plaintiffs’ complaints allege that MTN supported anti-American militias in Iraq and Afghanistan through its participation in Irancell,” it said.

MTN denied any wrongdoing and vowed to file a motion to dismiss the claims.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have grown increasingly strained in recent months.

South Africa has drawn US criticism for its close ties with Russia, its decision to bring a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza war, and for what President Donald Trump claims is the persecution of white farmers.

Trump has also slapped most South African exports with a 30-percent tariff — the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas has stressed the need to boost intra-African trade, stating that the telecom company remained proudly Pan-African in its business approach.

Jonas who spoke during a courtesy visit by the third cohort of the Media Innovation Programme (MIP-3) at his office in South Africa, saidd: “The goal at MTN is to be proudly Pan-African. We believe in the power of the media to shape the narrative of our continent and promote democracy.”

Also a former South African Deputy Finance Minister, Jonas highlighted the significance of the South Africa-Nigeria relationship, stating that a joint Africa is essential for Pan-Africanism. “If there’s no relationship at the social, economic, and political level, it’s a huge problem for Pan-Africanism. Africa is diverse, but a united Africa is crucial,” he said.

He blamed demographic anxiety for the rise of xenophobia which he also blamed on growing inequalities “Demographic anxiety could find expression in xenophobia. We need to create jobs in the digital economy, promote inclusivity, and grow the economy in all spheres,” he said.

He also emphasised the need to address ethnic stalking, which he believes serves no national interest and is only used to chase agendas during elections. “Ethnic stalking must be stopped because it’s divisive. We need a renaissance and a deliberate policy to promote national interest far ahead of regional interest,” he said.

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For the media, Jonas advised business owners to make their platforms attractive to investors and urged journalists to uphold ethics. “Don’t be bendable and easily influenced by envelopes, but by ethics. The growth of digital media and shrinking operational assets can be averted if the media makes itself bankable and attracts the right kind of investments,” he advised.

The visit was part of the MIP-3 cohort’s one-week study tour, which aimed to equip media practitioners and innovators with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in a rapidly evolving media landscape and to tell the stories that need to be told. The program has been instrumental in reshaping the narrative of Africa by providing opportunities for Nigerian journalists to interface with their South African counterparts.