MTN Nigeria, once burdened by financial crisis, is now charting a course of renewed stability as it prepares to resume dividend payments in 2025.
The company’s rebound from negative equity to strong investor confidence didn’t happen overnight; it resulted from strategic planning, operational efficiency, and a firm understanding of the regulatory framework.
Though operating in different sectors, African cryptocurrency startups such as Yellow Card, VALR, Luno, and Zap Africa, to name a few, have much to learn from MTN Nigeria’s comeback.
The digital asset space faces challenges, ranging from regulatory uncertainty to scalability and user trust.
These make the MTN playbook a relevant and timely case study for how these startups can build resilient, future-proof businesses.
Innovation alone is not enough for strategic growth
Many crypto startups launch with great ideas but often fail when faced with the practicalities of scaling and compliance. MTN’s story highlights a vital principle: innovation must pair with structure.
In the first half of 2025, MTN reported a 54.6 per cent increase in service revenue and a 119.5 percent rise in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation, EBITDA, achieved not by radical reinvention, but by optimising its digital services and focusing on profitable segments.
This kind of strategic growth is also essential for crypto companies. Take, for instance, startups offering blockchain-based payment platforms or digital wallets. These tools, while innovative, require a foundation of reliable service delivery, robust financial planning, and streamlined operations.
Chasing rapid growth without infrastructure to support it can lead to burnout—financially and operationally. MTN’s success reinforces the idea that sustainable scaling beats fast, unstructured expansion.
Crypto startups in Africa can begin by analysing which parts of their offerings deliver consistent value—whether it’s crypto payments and remittances, exchanges and trading platforms, B2B solutions, wallets and infrastructure, crypto banking tools, education and onboarding, NFTs and digital assets, or decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms.
Rather than spreading across every possible market, crypto ventures can use MTN by identifying profitable sectors—like B2B crypto payments or remittances—and building strong systems around them.
When supported by clear data and performance metrics, these high-value services can serve as a foundation for future growth.
Compliance is not a barrier—it’s a bridge
Another standout part of the company’s recovery is its proactive approach to regulation. In a sector where telecom laws and financial oversight intersect, MTN stayed ahead by investing in compliance teams, training staff, and undergoing regular audits.
This helped the company maintain trust with stakeholders and regulators alike.
The regulatory landscape may be even more complex for crypto startups due to its evolving nature and lack of clear frameworks in Africa, but the principle remains the same.
Instead of seeing regulation as an obstacle, startups can treat it as a framework to build credibility. Engaging regulators early, communicating openly, and aligning innovations with national financial goals can turn potential sceptics into partners.
A shift in mindset is essential here. Regulation doesn’t mean the end of innovation; it demands responsible innovation. As MTN has shown, marrying compliance with growth opens doors to partnerships, investment, and user trust.
Therefore, crypto startups demonstrating a long-term commitment to regulatory engagement are more likely to gain traction and build reputational capital.
So, it is essential to create a similar sense of what the telecommunication giant has done. One promising strategy is to explore token-based reward systems that share company growth with the user community, similar to MTN’s profit-sharing ethos.
Imagine a crypto firm that distributes part of its earnings through token rewards, incentivising long-term holding and user loyalty.
This stabilises the platform’s token economy and shows users they are part of something enduring—not just another short-lived trend.
Such strategies mirror traditional corporate moves, like dividend declarations, in a format native to Web3 ecosystems.
The takeaway?
Crypto startups don’t have to sacrifice innovation to achieve operational excellence. By integrating clear strategies, sound financial planning, and strong compliance structures, they can weather volatility and position themselves as leaders in the evolving digital finance space.
MTN Nigeria’s rise from financial distress to strategic stability is a story of discipline, patience, and vision—qualities that the crypto sector, too often driven by hype cycles, urgently needs.
Startups wanting to lead the next phase of digital finance must adopt a mindset that values disruption and structure.