MTN has used the Africa CEO Forum to argue that the continent’s next phase of digital growth depends on shared infrastructure, harmonised policy, and co-investment models that cross national borders.
The pan-African mobile operator brought a delegation led by Ebenezer Twum Asante, senior vice-president for markets, to the 14 to 15 May 2026 Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. The forum convened under the theme “Scale or Fail: Why Africa must embrace shared ownership”.
Three pillars for cross-border digital growth
MTN’s contribution to forum sessions centred on three areas: shared digital and financial infrastructure for affordability, resilience and inclusion; policy and regulatory harmonisation for cross-border investment and interoperability; and co-investment and risk-sharing models for African digital infrastructure.
“Africa’s next phase of growth will not be achieved through fragmented markets and duplicated infrastructure. It will be built through shared systems, coordinated investment and trusted partnerships,” said Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer.
Aligning with AfCFTA’s digital protocol
The push lands as the African Continental Free Trade Area’s protocol on digital trade enters its implementation phase. The protocol commits signatory countries to interoperable digital infrastructure, mutual recognition of digital identities, and cross-border data-flow frameworks, areas where individual telecoms operators remain constrained by national licensing regimes.
MTN did not announce specific investment commitments or partnerships at the forum. The company operates in 17 African markets with a combined subscriber base above 290 million.
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