MTN Group Limited on Tuesday announced that it had completed the sale of its operations in Guinea-Conakry to the State of Guinea. This deal is in line with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which focuses on portfolio simplification and optimisation.
The signing of the acquisition agreement, which was finalised on December 30, 2024, in the presence of Guinea-Conakry’s Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah, had Madame Rose Pola Pricemou, ICT Minister Mourana Soumah, Minister of Economics and Finances and MTN Guinea General Manager Nzuzi Sala-Diakanda among others in attendance.
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MTN’s reaction to the development
MTN Guinea-Conakry’s General Manager Nzuzi Sala-Diakanda stated, “We are pleased to have concluded, on December 30th, 2024, the sale of MTN Guinée to the State of Guinea. This decision reflects our alignment with the State’s strategic vision to strengthen and modernize Guinea’s telecommunications sector. MTN Guinée has always been committed to delivering reliable and innovative services, and we are confident that under the State’s leadership, this mission will continue and expand to benefit all Guineans.”
MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, while also commenting on the finalisation of the acquisition stated: “This milestone marks a new phase for MTN Guinea-Conakry under local ownership, and MTN thanks the staff, customers, regulators and broader stakeholders in Guinea for the support during the time MTN has been operational in the country. Concluding this transaction is in line with the strategy to simplify the portfolio and allocate capital to markets where we can make a difference as MTN and deliver long-term growth and returns.”
MTN Guinea-Conakry’s sale to the State of Guinea marks a significant turning point in the country’s telecom industry and could further align with Guinea’s goals and national interests.
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MTN’s plan to focus on high-potential markets
The portfolio fit analysis conducted by MTN under its risk management framework led to the company’s decision to withdraw from the Guinean market.
MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which focuses on investing in high-potential markets to propel Africa’s digital advancement, is likewise consistent with this action.
Mupita explained the group’s reason to close its operations in Guinea-Conakry and Guinea-Bissau during an August 2024 MTN Editors Roundtable in Johannesburg.
He said “Given our risk management framework and the things we need, some markets are very difficult. We’re not the best owners of those businesses because they’re subscale or they’re small, and they are not going to be able to fund their own growth.”
The Prime Minister of Guinea-Conakry acknowledged the strategic significance of this operation for the strengthening of the country’s economic and digital sovereignty and commended the teams that worked for the acquisition to become a reality.