Africa’s long-term prosperity depends less on migration debates and more on expanding economic opportunity, says MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita.
Mupita expressed his views this week at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) Winter Seminar, which discussed the relationship between migration, development, and Africa's future with leaders from academia, business, government, and the diplomatic corps.
His comments follow recent anti-migration protests in South Africa calling for undocumented migrants to leave the country.
MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecoms company, operates in more than 15 markets across Africa and the Middle East, with South Africa and Nigeria as its largest operations.
The group serves more than 300 million subscribers with voice, data, fintech and digital services.
Mupita said: "The future of Africa will not be determined by the borders that separate us, but by the economic opportunities that connect us. Governments must set predictable policy and regulations. Businesses will follow and allocate resources and capital. Together, we can build a continent where opportunity is more evenly shared and prosperity is more widely created.”
He added that migration should not be viewed in isolation, but within the broader economic conditions shaping people’s lives and progress.
"If our discussion ends with the language of crisis around migration, we will have treated the symptom and missed the deeper challenge. People move because opportunity is unevenly distributed. The defining question is whether we can build economies in which mobility is matched by opportunity."
Mupita argued that Africa’s demographic advantage will only become an economic advantage if countries invest in the conditions that allow people to participate productively.
These include skills, infrastructure, finance, markets and institutions.
“MTN was born in South Africa and has grown alongside the continent. Our prosperity is inseparable from Africa’s prosperity,” Mupita said, adding that digital infrastructure and services have become increasingly important enablers of economic participation.
These connect people to each other, but also to education, entrepreneurship, financial and public services, and to markets.
Mupita said this is why MTN continues to support platforms that encourage thoughtful, evidence-based dialogue on issues that shape Africa’s future.
“MTN believes that Africa’s strength lies in its connectivity – not only through networks, but through people, ideas and shared identity. This initiative is about building bridges, not borders,” Mupita said.
MTN Group, a sponsor of this year's KMF seminar, said it believes platforms that bring together different viewpoints are crucial to developing viable solutions to the continent's most difficult problems.
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