MTN, one of South Africa’s most valuable brands in the last decade, is getting a new look by the end of this month.

It announced yesterday that its brand, valued at R44.8 billion by Brand Finance, will be overhauled from 27 February, as part of the Pan-African telco’s Ambition 2025 strategy.

This initiative, which is now in full swing, revolves around MTN’s evolution from a telecoms group into a technology company.

“MTN Group’s Ambition 2025, aimed at ‘leading digital platforms for Africa’s progress’, has ushered in a new look that is aligned to our evolution from a telecommunications company to a technology company, underpinned by one simple, consistent, yet striking brand,” MTN said in a brief statement yesterday.

“Our commitment and focus to accelerate Africa’s progress sees MTN revealing a refreshed brand identity and campaign from 27 February. The campaign is inspired by an insight that doing is a bridge between can and done, because all progress comes from action.”

MTN’s new look comes as the company’s brand is ranked in the top of SA’s telecoms sector, a position it has held for a decade as the most valuable South African brand, according to Brand Finance’s annual report on the most valuable and strongest brands in the country.

The Johannesburg-headquartered MTN, which is Africa’s biggest telco, has been on an accelerated revamp in the last 18 months, in terms of operational model. It has been diversifying its revenue sources away from the traditional stronghold of voice communications, spreading its reach into the digital space, while strategically embracing fintech.

MTN has also been working to strengthen partnerships with over-the-top companies, such as Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp. The mobile group has since penned alliance partnerships with various companies to support media services, such as YouTube, Showmax and Deezer.

Travelstar and Zando are some of the companies that are also collaborating with MTN to assist it to deliver e-commerce solutions as part of its Ambition 2025 strategy.

MTN’s intention to see its new strategy through was further bolstered by the banking licence to operate its Mobile Money (MoMo) in Nigeria, paving the way for its fintech drive.

Since then, MTN’s fintech revenue surged by 57.3% in the financial year ended December 2021.

Transaction volume of its MoMo in Nigeria, its most lucrative market, rose by 167% to 137.5 million in the period, from an active user base of 9.4 million, up 102%.

This week, in SA, MTN launched a talent search to fill many new critical roles, including UX and UI designers, product owners, performance marketers, digital content specialists and e-commerce experts, to support its new trajectory.

Analysts say it may be the opportune time for the telco to reposition its identity, but cautioned it’s not an easy road.

“Overall, it may be the right time for MTN to focus stakeholder attention on its transformation by rebranding. However, success will depend on actual strategic direction and execution of that strategy rather than on a simple rebrand,” says Peter Takaendesa, head of equities at Mergence Investment Managers.

“Networks and market penetration levels for core mobile telecoms services have largely matured now and growth will come mostly from new digital services that leverage telecoms distribution channels and existing mobile networks.

“Most telecoms companies in Africa are trying to position themselves as the so-called ‘techcos’ due to their entry into fintech services and IOT [internet of things] markets, but capital allocation discipline is encouraged, given how some of them have struggled to make a success of ventures into e-commerce over the past decade.”

Wanda Lubelwana, MD of Brand Comms Africa, comments: “We are moving towards an increasingly digitised society where distinction, clarity of purpose and action are salient to brands of the future. This move reflects an era where more and more companies will reflect the concept of digitalisation in their brand DNA.”