MTN head office in Johannesburg.

As MTN Group expands its financial services, the telecoms company announced today that its super app platform Ayoba has amassed 28.3 million monthly active users in just six months.

The leading markets for Ayoba are Nigeria with 7.2 million users, Cote d'Ivoire (2.8 million), Cameroon (2.6 million), and Ghana (2.5 million).

Ayoba's development coincides with the rise of super apps in Africa, which are attempting to capture the continent's unbanked population.

As telcos seek to diversify their revenue streams beyond the traditional telephony and data, financial services have emerged as a crucial boon.

MTN, Vodacom, Orange, and Safaricom, among others, have made significant inroads in the market.

“We have built an MAU (monthly active user) base of 7.3 million in countries where MTN does not have GSM operations, demonstrating the scope of the messaging platform to scale as an OTT (over-the-top player),” says Ralph Mupita. MTN Group CEO.

He adds: "Our growth was driven by improved user experience, most notably the introduction of an expanded and improved music service.

“In addition to its communication and social features, Ayoba continues to provide local and global content (music, games, channels, and micro applications) that is relevant and useful. Ayoba has also launched early monetisation proof-of-concept initiatives, such as display advertisements and premium sales."

Turning to the growth of other MTN platforms, Mupita reports that digital revenue increased by 8.0% year-over-year (YoY) to R1.8 billion, as Nigeria continued to grow revenues by more than 50%, partially offsetting slowing performances in South Africa and Ghana.

He says, MTN’s Digital Services business is concentrating on expanding its portfolio through partnerships with Amazon Prime Video and Apple Music in Nigeria and Disney+ in South Africa.

During the six-month period, enterprise revenue grew by 24.8% YoY, supported by double-digit growth in four of MTN's top six markets and facilitated by the Group's platform transformation strategy centred on converged services solutions.

Mupita says: “MTN SA, which delivered growth of 9.3%, benefited from strong data product propositions as well as distribution channel expansion. MTN Nigeria's enterprise revenue increased by 49.4%, led by mobile and fixed connectivity services and supported by the addition of new customers across all segments. 

"We saw growth in data and connectivity services in other critical markets, including MTN Ghana and MTN Côte d'Ivoire, as our customers shifted to hybrid work styles as a result of digital transformation initiatives.”

Similalry, he says wholesale revenue increased by 32.3%, with a solid national roaming performance in MTN SA.

“Revenue from Cell C was up strongly, while the multi-year Telkom roaming deal continued to gain traction with roaming revenues growing consistently,” says Mupita.