A high-level MTN Group delegation, led by Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas and Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita, visited Uganda this week to engage with national leaders and key stakeholders. The visit underscores MTN Group’s enduring commitment to Uganda as a strategic market within its pan-African growth agenda.
The visit formed part of a broader leadership engagement platform bringing together Board Chairs from MTN’s operating companies and senior executives across the Group. It provided a strategic opportunity to strengthen ties with government and industry leaders, align on shared priorities, and advance MTN’s commitments to Uganda’s digital and socio-economic development.
The programme included a high-level meeting with President Museveni at State House, Entebbe, as well as a stakeholder dinner hosted by MTN, which convened senior government officials, regulators, and private sector leaders.
During the State House meeting, President Museveni welcomed MTN’s continued investment and emphasised the importance of targeting sectors that generate employment and expand the economy. “If people have jobs and incomes, they will buy more phones and use them more,” he said. “That’s why we must invest in the four key sectors of wealth and job creation: commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT.” He further encouraged MTN to explore cross-border investment as a means of promoting regional integration and intra-African trade.
Uganda holds a distinct place in MTN’s history as the first country outside South Africa where the Group secured a telecommunications licence. Granted in 1998, this licence marked the beginning of MTN’s international expansion, laying the foundation for what would become one of Africa’s leading digital infrastructure and platform businesses. Today, MTN Uganda stands as one of the Group’s most important markets, commercially and developmentally.
Mcebisi Jonas, MTN Group Chairman, expressed appreciation for the long-standing collaboration between MTN and the Government of Uganda. “We just came today to say thank you very much for the support you have always given us. We have had excellent collaboration from the regulators, and MTN is not here for the short term—we are here for the long haul,” he said. He also emphasised MTN’s interest in strengthening trade and business linkages between Uganda and South Africa, and highlighted the Group’s broader capacity to support national development. “We believe there is real opportunity to help Ugandan businesses enter the South African market, and that is something we can explore further.”
