MTN is finding its next growth engine outside South Africa

MTN’s growth engine is moving beyond South Africa, with markets such as Nigeria and Ghana driving much of the group’s momentum in the first half of 2026. 

The group’s service revenue grew 17.5% in constant-currency terms to R115.3 billion ($7.21 billion) in the first half of 2026, but the gains were concentrated outside its home market. Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon were among the strongest contributors, while South Africa posted just 1.5% service-revenue growth.

The latest results suggest the group’s diversification across 19 markets is becoming important to its growth prospects, allowing faster-growing businesses in markets such as Nigeria and Ghana to offset weaker conditions at home.

Nigeria is aiming for at least low-20% service-revenue growth, while Ghana expects mid-to-upper 30% expansion. South Africa is targeting only low-to-mid-single-digit gains.

“The increasing contribution from our broader markets and growth platforms continued to enhance the resilience and quality of Group earnings,” MTN said in its results on Monday.

Ralph Mupita, the Group’s chief executive officer (CEO) and President, pointed to the same dynamic, saying the company’s performance reflected strong conversion of commercial momentum. “We are encouraged by the record margins delivered in the period as well as the strong cash upstreaming from operations,” he said.

Mupita added that MTN committed almost R20 billion ($1.25 billion) in capital expenditure in H1 to expand its mobile network, connect more homes and modernise IT across the business.

Services beyond traditional voice are also driving growth. Data revenue rose 29.2% in constant currency, while voice revenue grew only 2.4% on that measure. MTN added 6.7% more customers to reach 317.7 million, while active data…