Africa’s largest telecoms operator, MTN Group, is exploring banking licences in select markets as the company looks to expand lending from its own balance sheet, CEO Ralph Mupita said on Tuesday.
MTN is stepping up its push into fintech services to drive growth beyond traditional telecommunications revenue, with lending emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments within its mobile money business.
“We’re seeing good growth on advanced services, which are our future-proof services,” Mupita told journalists, referring to offerings such as payments, e-commerce and lending. “The big growth now, which will be the growth of the future, is actually lending.”
Key Developments: Lending, Banking Licences, and Data Centre Expansion
MTN currently provides loans through partnerships with banks, but the company is now considering a more direct approach.
We’re beginning to explore, where it makes sense and where there are large customer bases (and) significant floats in wallets, whether it may make sense to have some sort of banking licence that enables us to take deposits,” Mupita said. “As such, we will then be lending over time off our own balance sheet. But also, it doesn’t mean we won’t do any partnership lending.
He said the approach would be selective rather than implemented across all of MTN’s operations, and that any move to balance-sheet lending would be gradual given the risks involved.
AI-Enabled Data Centres
MTN is also betting on digital infrastructure growth. The company plans to develop AI-enabled data centres in South Africa and Nigeria through Africa Data Hub Holding, a venture with an undisclosed UAE-backed investor to develop AI-ready data centre infrastructure across key African markets.
Mupita said MTN would be a minority investor in the venture, while its partner, which has experience building data centres in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries, would provide most of the capital and technical expertise.
The initial phase is expected to target about 150 megawatts of capacity across South Africa and Nigeria, with future expansion driven by demand, he added.
Analysis: What This Means for MTN’s Fintech Strategy
The move to explore banking licences represents a significant strategic shift for MTN. The company has built a vast mobile money ecosystem across Africa, with over 77 million registered users in Ghana alone and transaction values reaching GH¢2.76 trillion. By taking deposits and lending directly, MTN could capture more value from its existing customer base, reduce reliance on bank partnerships, and potentially increase margins.
However, the risks are substantial. Banking regulation is complex, capital requirements are high, and managing credit risk at scale requires sophisticated underwriting capabilities. Mupita’s emphasis on a gradual, selective approach reflects this caution.
The data centre venture signals MTN’s ambition to capture value from the AI and cloud computing boom. By partnering with an experienced Gulf investor, MTN can access capital and technical expertise while focusing on its core strengths in customer relationships and local market knowledge.
What This Means for Ghana
For Ghana, where MTN MoMo is the dominant mobile money platform, the potential for balance-sheet lending could reshape the financial services landscape. MTN already offers loans through partnerships with banks; a banking licence would allow it to compete directly with traditional banks for deposits and lending.
The Ghanaian banking sector is already under pressure to improve asset quality, with the Bank of Ghana imposing strict measures on banks with high non-performing loans. MTN’s entry into direct lending could intensify competition, potentially driving down interest rates and improving access to credit for underserved segments.
Outlook
MTN’s exploration of banking licences and AI-ready data centres signals a broader transformation of the telecoms giant into a digital services powerhouse. The shift from partnership lending to balance-sheet lending is gradual, but the direction is clear.
Fintech services such as lending and e-commerce offer the best opportunity to grow average revenue per user beyond the traditional telecoms business,” Mupita said.
The coming months will reveal which markets MTN targets for banking licences and how the venture with UAE-backed investors progresses.
Source: The Accra Daily Mail
Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of The Accra Daily Mail, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
