MTN Cameroon, in partnership with Huawei, has entered into a partnership with the country’s Rural Electrification Agency (AER) according to which it will deploy antennas and relay stations in rural regions.

MTN Cameroon is already using AER-produced solar energy to power some of its pilot sites in the West and Littoral regions. The company plans to extend this rural service across the entire country.

The company's CEO Stephen Blewett said: “It is (also) an opportunity to reduce certain inequalities. People living in rural areas, often excluded from the benefits of modernity, will have access to all telephony, high speed internet and mobile money services.”

According to the MTN Cameroon executive, using AER solar power will enable MTN to speed up the digital and financial inclusion of these communities.

Blewett described the value of this technology rollout. “Our initiative is an act of responsibility because a mother in Mariemberg of the Sanaga-Maritime region (division) must be able to check on her son who has gone to Yaounde to study at the university and even send him money on his phone for his school fees.”

Moussa Ousmanou, General Manager of AER, said the MoU provides them with more resources to enforce the country’s plan to increase its renewable energy capacity to at least 25% of total production by 2030.

“The protection of our environment is more than urgent by using clean energies rather than fossil sources whose harmfulness needs not to be overemphasized. This is an emergency which our partner, MTN Cameroon has understood and incorporated in its development strategy,” Ousmanou noted.

The agreement will add impetus to MTN’s goal to achieve a 47% average reduction in absolute emissions by 2030 and has committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.