Motsepe’s ARC joins consortium to seal R1.5bn Fintech deal

The Pan-African telecoms giant agrees to withdraw from its operations in Yemen, through a transfer of its shareholding to a minority shareholder.

The deal entails the sale and leaseback of 5 709 of MTN SA’s towers – comprising approximately 4 000 greenfield and 1 700 rooftop sites.

The telco sees strong growth potential for customer adoption and is targeting 73 million financial services customers in three years.

The challenging economic and trading environment saw restrained half-year growth, supported by the telco’s mobile division and masts and towers business.

Africa’s biggest telco says it is committed to investing in the capacity and resilience of its networks, while scaling its platforms to drive accelerated growth.

Fintech revenue grew by 55.2%, as customers continued to increase their use of the telco’s broader fintech services, while digital revenue surged by 56%.

Tech is the enabler for development and it’s clear that traditional models for building economies are no longer valid, says the ICT executive.

Africa’s biggest telco says that as recently as last year, the Nigerian tax authorities commended it for its prompt payment of dues.

The telco says it is assessing its options to leave the volatile country, but for now, it will continue to offer services to its millions of subscribers in the region.

The former MTN CEO was earlier this year nominated as JSE chairman-designate and will assume the role of board chairman next year.

Insiders predict intra-African trade could rise 20% to 30% within the next five years with the use of digitisation and blockchain.

The company posts blowout e-commerce revenue growth of 55% for the year, outperforming the Chinese Internet giant, which posted 28% revenue growth.