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MTN Group’s Mobile Money Application Interface (API) is inviting developers across several markets to participate in an Open API Hackathon, with a challenge to create a mobile application that uses MoMo APIs for use in their markets.

The hackathon will be the second conducted by MTN Group Fintech and will take place in the following countries: eSwatini, Zambia, Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Guinea Conakry.

Developers will compete to create an innovative application for the markets in which they are registered, which can process financial transactions with added capabilities that go beyond processing payments and drive both financial inclusion and literacy.

“MTN is committed to extending financial and digital inclusion across the continent in furtherance of its strategy to build a pan-African Fintech platform that will power the digital economy and serve as a catalyst for social and economic growth in Africa,” said Serigne Dioum, MTN Group Chief Fintech Officer.

“With our Open API Platform, we reach out to Africa’s resourceful talents and enable them to grow and create opportunities by leveraging our MoMo Platform. We have no doubt that it is by collaborating with the talents of Africa that we will expand the service offering available on MoMo,” he added.

About the challenge:

  • The challenge runs from 04 August 2022 until 9 September 2022
  • Developers will have time to submit their idea of an innovative financial and transactional app that must include the usage of MTN Mobile Money APIs
  • The developers are required to create a mobile application that uses MTN MoMo APIs; the mobile application needs to target consumers, merchants, or businesses.
  • The application must provide a practical and valuable solution that can be deployed in the market where the applicants have registered and can cover use cases beyond payment but must utilize MTN MoMo APIs.
  • MTNC will select the top 12 applicants to progress to the prototyping phase
  • The preselected applicants will be required to make a live demo of their application to the adjudicator
  • Interested developers can find out more here.

Finalists stand the chance to win up to USD 10 000 in prize money.

 

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With this very first Touch Point in Warda, the telecoms operator is expanding its network to better serve its customers. 

MTN Cameroon,  leading telecommunications company in Cameroon, is pleased to announce the opening of a new Touch Point located in the Yaounde PlaYce Commercial Centre of  the Warda neighbourhood.

The store  was inaugurated on 7 July 2022 during a ceremony presided over by the Governor of the Centre  Region, Naseri Paul Béa, in the presence of Stephen Blewett, Chief Executive Officer and his successor, Mitwa Nga’mbi, recently appointed by the MTN Group.

This touch point christened Warda Experience Centre – MTN Touch  will contribute to enhance   the digital experience and quality of service offered to customers through several innovations. Connected touch screens, self-service areas, virtual reality content, trials and games have also been provided. Classical services will moreover be available: subscriber identification, sale of SIM cards, migration to 4G and  4.5G technologies, activation of MTN Mobile Money accounts, cash-in, cash-out, MoMo transfer, sale of smartphones, tablets, modems and other terminals.

The Warda Experience Centre will be open from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 9pm, and on weekends, from 9am to 9.30pm. A team of motivated, professional  and experienced MTNers shall be available to ensure the satisfaction of every customer.

“This new store concretizes our dual promise of proximity and memorable experience. Because we have to serve more than 10 million customers on a daily basis and ensure that each of these loyal subscribers has a unique experience that is commensurate with the trust they have placed on MTN Cameroon for more than 20 years now,” explained the CEO, Stephen Blewett.

With this new Touch Point in Warda, MTN now has  6  Stores  in Yaounde and 19 others in the 10 regions of Cameroon.

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MTN Cameroon is pleased to announce the appointment of Mitwa Ng’ambi as the new CEO of MTN Cameroon, with effect from 1 September 2022. She will be succeeding Stephen Blewett who is leaving the Group for other career opportunities.

Mitwa Ng’ambi who is currently the CEO of MTN Rwanda has been a member of the MTN family for a cumulative 10  years and has also worked in the Benin and Zambia operations.

During her time at the helm of MTN Rwanda, Mitwa has been instrumental in strengthening the business’ stakeholder engagement. She has also led industry transformative initiatives for digital penetration and financial inclusion and oversaw the listing of MTN Rwanda on the stock exchange and establishment of its Fintech subsidiary.

MTN Cameroon Chairman Colin Mukete said, “We would like to thank Stephen for his valuable contribution over the years and we welcome Mitwa to the MTN Cameroon family. We are confident that her experience, exceptional leadership skills and expertise will benefit MTN Cameroon and its stakeholders. We wish her success in her new role as we execute our Ambition 2025 strategic priorities.

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MTN, leader in the telecommunications sector in Cameroon is pleased to announce the signing, on 02 June 2022 in Yaounde, of a Collaboration Framework Agreement with the Rural Electrification Agency (AER) to supply its rural sites with solar energy.

The document was initialed by Mr. Moussa Ousmanou, General Manager of AER and Stephen Blewett, CEO of MTN Cameroon, in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Water and Energy.

This Framework Agreement specifies the terms and conditions under which AER provides MTN Cameroon with energy produced by its solar power plants. The energy is intended to power MTN Cameroon’s network infrastructure in rural areas, particularly the relay stations.

The implementation of this agreement is already ongoing at pilot sites in the West and Littoral regions. This deployment shall be extended to all 10 regions of the country in the coming months and will accelerate MTN Cameroon’s ESG strategy, of which reducing carbon footprint is one of the main objectives.

“Cameroon plans to increase its renewable energy capacity to at least 25% the total production by 2035*. This agreement with MTN Cameroon provides us with more resources to achieve this goal and enables us to engage with economic stakeholders who are still hesitating. Because 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,” said the General Manager of AER.

By entering into this partnership with AER, MTN Cameroon is contributing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals while setting conditions conducive to the growth of communities in compliance with the company’s ESG commitments.

“Under the Project Zero, MTN seeks to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. This partnership with AER puts us on the right path to preserve our environment. 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”, explained Stephen Blewett. “We are going far beyond business by building a sustainable environment for our society at large”, he concluded.

 

*Data updated
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The network of professionals in the field of communications (COM-PMA) held its annual meeting from 26 to 28 May 2022 in Kribi. The deliberations  centered on the theme: “Attractiveness of Regional and Local Authorities: the challenges of local communications”.

An opportunity seized by MTN Cameroon to invite communication professionals to draw inspiration from certain practices of institutional communication to better sell the attractiveness of villages, cities and regions they are responsible for.

In this regard, MTN’s representative, in his presentation, emphasized the Sustainable Development Goals or Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) criteria as an avenue to follow.

“The regional and local authority is certainly a geographical area, but above all, is the meeting point of several stakeholders. These stakeholders are the priority of the actions to be taken. Communicators must keep this critical detail in mind when they are called upon to advise cities, develop and execute communications strategies for communities,” explains Edouard Tamba of MTN Cameroon’s institutional communications team.

In the case of MTN, the ESG approach is appropriate. It provides the company with a framework that guides its choices by taking into account the priorities of its stakeholders. On inclusion and diversity, for example, the company is aiming for a 50/50 ratio of men to women in its workforce by 2030.

To help alleviate poverty, MTN is deploying its infrastructure on rural communities, providing free access to several communication services to the poorest and accelerating financial inclusion with its MoMo service.

Another critical area is carbon footprint. MTN is committed to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 47% by 2030 and attaining  zero emissions by 2040. In Cameroon, for example, the deployment of solar-powered network infrastructure is one of the ways to achieve these goals.

“Communicators can encourage city councils to adopt this type of indicator to show the relevance of their strategic choices and then make their actions more visible to stakeholders,” recommends Edouard Tamba, taking the example of the city of Johannesburg in South Africa.

The series of questions and answers enabled MTN’s representative to further illustrate his point. It should be noted that in addition to this presentation, MTNC supported the organization of this forum in terms of logistics to make the event more visible.

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MTN Cameroon and Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) have signed a strategic national network roaming agreement which will see Camtel expand 2G/3G and 4G coverage in areas of Cameroon which are not already covered by its network.

This is in line with the Cameroonian telecommunication ministry’s transformation objective, which includes initiatives to accelerate citizens’ participation in the digital economy in a cost-effective way. It is also aligned with MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.

“One of MTN Group’s strategic priorities is to build the largest and most valuable platforms, including network as a service,” said MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita. “The roaming agreement with the state-owned Camtel is a significant development in our work to deliver on this: we are excited to bring our world-class services closer to the people of Cameroon.”

MTN Cameroon CEO, Stephen Blewett and Camtel CEO, Madam Judith Yah Sunday Achidi signed the agreement on Wednesday, 13 April 2022 at MTN Group’s head office in Johannesburg.

Camtel’s subscribers will benefit from access to MTN’s existing network infrastructure, which covers 97% of population with 2G, 90% with 3G and 70% with 4G, allowing Camtel to expand its geographic coverage for a significantly improved customer experience.

“This agreement is a milestone for MTN Cameroon and is in line with our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a connected life,” said Blewett.

Madam Achidi concurred: “We want to provide an environment where technology facilitates people’s daily lives, bringing them value wherever they are.”

 

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MTN Foundation, first corporate foundation in Cameroon, is pleased to announce the handing over, on 7 April 2022, of a significant stock of medical equipment to the South-West Region to fight against the current cholera epidemic.

The donation was received during a ceremony at the Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Public Health in Buea, in the presence of the Regional Delegate and his entourage as well as representatives of MTN Cameroon.

The stock provided to the Ministry of Public Health consists mainly of Ringer Lactate solutions, which is a sodium chloride composition administered as a drip to cholera patients to help them resist chronic dehydration that can lead to their death.

The drugs provided are for the relief teams of all the health districts supervised by the Regional Delegation.

“Faced with threats such as epidemics, the duty of solidarity  compels us all. And for more than 10 years of activity in Cameroon,  MTN Foundation has always responded. With this donation provided today, we hope that lives will be saved, and families will find a smile. This is also an opportunity to thank the medical staff for their dedication,” said Danielle Mbome Efoula, Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation.

This humanitarian aid operation is part of the support to national priorities, one of the areas recently approved by the MTN Foundation Board of Trustees during its session of 24 March 2022.

Another priority domain is the contribution to the development of a solid and impactful digital ecosystem to foster the empowerment of young people, notably women and access by the greatest majority to quality education.

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MTN Foundation, very first corporate foundation in Cameroon has announced the adoption of its new action plan at the end of its Board of Trustees  meeting held on 24 March 2022 at the MTN Cameroon head office in Douala.

The meeting was headed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of  MTN Foundation, former Minister Sanda Oumarou, assisted by five (5) other Directors, namely Dr. Ruth Engo Bamela, Vice-Chairperson of the Board, Dr. Henriette Meilo and Mr. Alain Malong, all public figures on the one hand, and on the other hand, Mrs. Jacqueline Iyok-Egbe as well as Mr. Jean Melvin Akam, representatives of MTN Cameroon in the said Board.

On the agenda of the meeting were the evolution of the institution’s governance, presentation of the financial report for 2021 and adoption of an action plan in line with the new priorities of the MTN Group.

MTN Foundation’s action plan for 2022 gives pride of place to the digital transformation of the continent in line with the MTN Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy.

Following this repositioning, 60% of the 2022 budget will be dedicated to the key programme dubbed “Open the Digital World” dedicated to the development of a strong and impactful digital ecosystem to empower young people and women as well as provide access to quality education for all. Secondly, 30% of the budget will be dedicated to supporting national priorities and local development initiatives under the “Good Together” programme.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees  said he was satisfied with the quality of the discussions and density of the projects proposed. “It is important to remember that in an inclusive approach, MTN Foundation will work to enable communities to benefit from the advantages of a connected world. Because this is the duty of MTN, an African company born in Africa, to go beyond business to bring sustainable value to communities,” said Mr. Sanda Oumarou. “The implementation of these initiatives will certainly contribute to building an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable society,” he concluded.

The implementation of the projects selected by the MTN Foundation will be the subject of specific communications in the coming weeks. Individuals and organisations with projects can continue to submit their projects to the Foundation via the following email address: Foundation.CM@mtn.com.

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MTN, leader of the telecommunications sector in Cameroon, announced the pursued  deployment of MTN Fusion on 21 February 2022, on the sidelines of the Promote 2022 entrepreneurship fair in Yaounde.

MTN Fusion is a partnership development programme between MTN Cameroon, and companies initiated in 2019 with the aim of accelerating the digitalisation of the economy. For the year 2022, the objectives are first of all to consolidate the partnerships implemented since the initial launch of MTN Fusion.

There will also be discussions on the acceleration of the digital transformation of small and medium-sized local enterprises using innovative solutions such as MTN OneView as well as showcasing  the potential of the fruits of partnership such as the centralised monitoring solution for intercity passenger and freight transportation  in Cameroon.

“Digitalization offers opportunities that MTN Cameroon is turning into progress and notably all bringing value to the business world thanks to platforms such as MTN Fusion. Since 2019, for example, we have explored over a hundred partnership projects; over twenty companies are now partners; over a dozen products have been launched in the marketplace with over a hundred customers from all sectors of the economy. This also means lives saved on our road networks thanks to a Public and Private partnership,” explained Franck Gérard Kom, General Manager MTN Business. “With MTN Fusion, we will continue to accelerate the digitalisation of the economy while promoting business development to build a sustainable and beneficial ecosystem for all,” he promised.

Presenting the evolution of MTN Fusion will be on the agenda menu of a two-day exchange, on 23 and 24 February 2022, at the Promote 2022 business fair currently taking place in Yaounde.

The telecommunications leader will also use this opportunity to enable  its partners to share their various experience of collaborating with MTN.

In addition to plenary sessions, there shall be training workshops and Masterclasses to support entrepreneurs in developing their projects.