Telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria posts half-year profits of ₦414 billion, marking a return to profitability.
MTN Nigeria, a key player in Nigeria's digital and financial inclusion agenda, has reported impressive results for the first half of 2025, underpinning its strategic collaboration and market inclusion efforts.
Financial Performance and Market Position
The telecommunications giant added approximately 562,000 new fintech customers in Q2, increasing its active mobile money wallets to 2.7 million. This growth is a testament to the renewed momentum in the broader fintech ecosystem and the focus on acquiring higher-value users. MTN Nigeria’s financial results for the half year ending June 30, 2025, reflect steady progress, with service revenue increasing by 54.6% year-on-year to ₦2.4 trillion.
Digital and Fintech Strategy
MTN Nigeria is executing a fintech growth strategy that aligns with wider Group initiatives. This strategy includes structural transformations seen in other subsidiaries, such as MTN Uganda, where the mobile money business is being separated from traditional GSM operations to improve scale, efficiency, and customer service delivery. This model is expected to influence MTN Nigeria’s approach, emphasizing acceleration in digital financial services as part of its Ambition 2025 strategy.
Infrastructure Investments
A major milestone is the launch of the Dabengwa Tier 3 Data Centre in Lagos in July 2025. Named after former MTN Group CEO Phuthuma Nhleko Dabengwa, this data centre boosts Nigeria’s digital infrastructure, enhancing data sovereignty, supporting local innovation, and reducing operational costs for businesses. The data centre is slated for an upgrade to Tier 4 standards soon, which will further improve reliability and resilience.
Strategic Industry Collaboration
MTN Nigeria has secured regulatory approval for a national roaming agreement with 9Mobile, facilitating expanded network reach and enhanced consumer experience. The company is also implementing support for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), further deepening market inclusion and industry collaboration, both critical aspects of their Ambition 2025 goals focused on connectivity and sustainability.
Broader Group Vision (Ambition 2025)
MTN Group’s overarching strategy — Ambition 2025 — aims to lead digital solutions across Africa by leveraging wide-scale infrastructure, new technology platforms, and a focus on financial inclusion aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. MTN Nigeria’s recent activities emphasize platform-driven growth, digital financial services expansion, cost and capital efficiency, and partnerships to achieve these objectives.
In summary, MTN Nigeria is advancing through significant infrastructure investments like the Dabengwa Data Centre, growing its fintech customer base and services, enhancing network collaboration, and aligning closely with the wider MTN Group's digital and platform transformation under Ambition 2025, while maintaining solid financial performance in 2025.
Future Plans and Updates
- MTN Nigeria has raised its 2025 guidance, expecting service revenue and EBITDA margin to grow by at least 50%.
- A large portion of the increased capital expenditure was used to expand network capacity and roll out fibre-to-the-home.
- MTN Nigeria added 3.8 million mobile subscribers, bringing its total to 84.7 million.
- Capital expenditure at MTN Nigeria more than tripled, reaching ₦565.7 billion.
- MTN's startup accelerator has committed ₦100 million in grants and support to bold innovators looking to scale.
- MTN Nigeria's fintech growth strategy, inspired by wider Group initiatives, is resulting in the acquisition of higher-value users, evident in the addition of approximately 562,000 new fintech customers in Q2, bringing the active mobile money wallets to 2.7 million.
- By launching the Dabengwa Tier 3 Data Centre and planning for an upgrade to Tier 4 standards, MTN Nigeria is aiming to improve Nigeria's digital infrastructure, reduce operational costs for businesses, and enhance data sovereignty.
- In an effort to deepen market inclusion and industry collaboration, MTN Nigeria has secured regulatory approval for a national roaming agreement with 9Mobile and is implementing support for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
4.MTN Nigeria's startup accelerator has shown a commitment to fostering innovation by promising ₦100 million in grants and support to promising startups looking to scale.