MTN Nigeria says its operations have become increasingly localised, with Nigerians now accounting for 99.9 per cent of its workforce and local procurement exceeding 62 per cent, as the company positions domestic capacity as a key driver of its next phase of growth.
The telecommunications giant disclosed this at the Nigerian-South Africa Chamber of Commerce August 2026 Breakfast Forum, where its Chief Financial Officer, Modupe Kadri, presented the company’s 25-year local content journey.
Kadri said MTN Nigeria had reduced its expatriate workforce from more than 300 in 2021 to just four, while most of its technology requirements are now supplied by Nigerian companies.
He said the company spent more than N2.7 trillion with Nigerian suppliers in 2025, pushing local procurement from 59.6 per cent in 2024 to 62 per cent last year.
The company also disclosed that it invested more than N1 trillion in digital infrastructure in 2025 and has paid over N7 trillion in taxes and statutory payments since commencing operations in Nigeria in 2001.
For Kadri, however, local content should be measured by more than the amount of money spent on Nigerian suppliers.
“Local content is not simply where we buy but what we build,” he said, arguing that the ultimate objective should be to create Nigerian businesses capable of competing internationally rather than companies dependent on a single major customer.
He cited SO&U, Seams&Stitches, Black House Media and Computer Warehouse Group as examples of Nigerian businesses that developed through opportunities created by MTN and subsequently expanded their capabilities.
Kadri said the next stage of Nigeria’s economic development should involve moving from being a market for imported technology to becoming a producer and exporter of technology, services and intellectual property.
He identified artificial intelligence and data, cloud computing and data centres, fibre and 5G, fintech, cybersecurity, content and intellectual property as areas with significant potential.
“The goal is not protection from global competition. The goal is preparation for global competition,” he said.
While MTN Nigeria highlighted its increasing local participation, its parent company, MTN Group, is simultaneously pursuing a major restructuring of its relationship with IHS Holding.
The group is reportedly seeking Nigerian investors to acquire up to 30 per cent of IHS Nigeria as part of the conditions attached to its proposed acquisition of IHS Holding.
The potential sell-down could raise between $900 million and $1.1 billion, according to Bloomberg, with the proceeds expected to be used to reduce debt associated with the transaction.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had granted conditional approval for the acquisition, requiring MTN to sell down up to 30 per cent of the Nigerian IHS business to local investors at market-based prices over time.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita confirmed that proceeds from any sell-down would be used to reduce IHS-related debt, although he did not disclose the expected value of the transaction.
IHS operates thousands of telecommunications towers across Africa, with Nigeria representing one of its largest markets. The company operates roughly 18,000 mobile towers in Nigeria.
The proposed acquisition has particular significance for MTN because the two companies have maintained a long-standing infrastructure relationship, with MTN previously selling thousands of towers to IHS under sale-and-leaseback arrangements.
As MTN seeks to complete its acquisition of IHS, the company’s Nigerian operations are simultaneously presenting a different story: one of a telecommunications business increasingly relying on local talent, suppliers and expertise.
Kadri said the broader ambition was to ensure that value created by the telecoms sector continues to circulate through Nigerian businesses, workers, government and investors.
“Our future is, therefore, inseparable from Nigeria’s future,” he said.
