Accra, Ghana//-At the time that most businesses are dropping their strategies due to the challenging business environment, MTN Ghana is focusing on executing its Ambition 2025 strategy to drive growth and unlock value for all stakeholders.
The telecoms company in its 2022 financial statement explained that it would deepen its expense efficiency efforts and preserve liquidity as it navigates the country’s macroeconomic challenges. “We give a medium-term guidance for service revenue growth in the low-twenties (in percentage terms)”, it stated.
“We are confident in the medium to long-term prospects of Ghana’s economy and as such, commit to continue to invest efficiently in infrastructure and to improve the capacity and quality of connectivity and other related services for our customers”, the Chief Executive Officer CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh emphasised.
MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy which is anchored on building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa, is underpinned by five growth platforms – MoMo (FinTech Solutions), Ayoba (Digital Solutions), Enterprise Services, Network (Network as a Service) and Chenosis (API MarketPlace).
This rests on a scale connectivity and infrastructure business, making use of both mobile and fixed access networks across the consumer, enterprise, and wholesale segments.
The sustained growth witnessed in the era of COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic is a clear testament that its investments into the business and infrastructure is paying off.
As the MTN chief indicated they therefore remained focused on delivering the strategy to ensure they give everyone the benefits of a modern connected life everywhere they go.
“As part of our commercial drive, MTN will drive adoption of the new MoMo Business app and roll out other exciting offers like the MTN/MKOPA Pick and Pay Later campaign and fibre broadband Akwaaba offer”.
Furthermore, the leading telecoms giant said it would sustain the ongoing work to improve our platforms, particularly on the myMTN and Ayoba apps, as well as MoMo, to enhance customer experience and deliver on our commitment to excellence with our customers.
“The community remains core to everything we do and to this end, MTN will extend various sustainability projects and explore further opportunities to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to improve the lives of communities across the nation with a focus on building and growing digital skills among the youth with a particular focus on females”, Mr Adadevoh said.
“As we aim for operational excellence in 2023 as a core pillar for sustaining bottom-line growth for the business in the medium-term, we acknowledge the macroeconomic headwinds that may impact the business environment and our operations.
After careful consideration of these factors and after evaluating our commercial strategy, we are reviewing MTN Ghana’s guidance of service revenue growth from mid to high teens to low-twenties in percentage terms”, the CEO said.
Looking forward, the macroeconomic outlook for Ghana in 2023 remains challenging with debt sustainability challenges, currency volatility and the risk of further depreciation expected to persist.
Coupled with the rising cost of fuel and utilities, this is expected to exacerbate general inflationary pressures and adversely affect consumer spending and business operations.
Economic and Financial Journalist and President of Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA), Suleiman Mustapha who lauded MTN Ghana and its parent company’s decision to continue the Ambition 2025 despite the challenging business environment in Ghana and across Africa, noted that most macroeconomic indicators moved in the wrong directions last year.
Indeed, 2022 was a challenging year for Ghana’s economy, compounded by high levels of inflation and the sharp depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against major currencies such as the US dollar, the Pound Sterling, and the Euro.
The average monthly inflation rate during the year 2022 was 31.5% and rose for twelve months in a row to reach 54.1% in the month of December 2022 (compared to 12.6% for December 2021).
This was due to factors such as the depreciation of the cedi (42.8% against the US dollar), as well as higher fuel and utility costs and far exceeded the Bank of Ghana’s target inflation ceiling of 10%.
However, the Ghanaian government responded by taking a tight monetary policy stance, with the policy rate increasing by 12.5% in 2022, ending the year at 27.0% (compared to 14.5% in December 2021).
The government also explored the unlocking of new revenue sources, applied for a $3 billion three-year extended credit facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and completed a domestic debt restructuring programme.
While talks are underway to restructure external debt as well.
The government has completed the unpopular Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and has indicated its intention to close out on the $3 billion facility in the first half of 2023 in a bid to improve the economic environment.
