MTN Uganda’s latest Sustainability Report quantifies the company’s economic footprint at Shs 15.32 trillion in direct and indirect contributions to Uganda’s GDP between 2022 and 2024. The same disclosure records Shs 1.6 trillion in taxes paid and an estimated Shs 34.9 trillion in broader “true value” created through economic, social and environmental impacts.
The report, aligned with global IFRS Sustainability Standards and independently assured by Ernst & Young, marks a step forward in ESG disclosure for the Ugandan telecom sector. It frames MTN’s role beyond connectivity, highlighting how network investment, mobile money services, local procurement and community programmes feed into national economic activity.
Tax contributions of Shs 1.6 trillion position the operator as one of the country’s largest taxpayers. Earlier figures showed the company supporting hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs and channelling substantial spending to local suppliers, including women-owned businesses. The GDP and true-value calculations attempt to capture both the direct effects of MTN’s operations and the wider multiplier effects of digital and financial services.
Sustainability reports of this type rely on modelling assumptions to translate company activity into economy-wide impacts. The Shs 15.32 trillion GDP figure and the larger true-value estimate therefore represent estimates rather than audited national-account data. Still, the disclosure provides a structured view of how a dominant telecom and fintech player quantifies its contribution in a market where mobile money and connectivity are central to everyday economic life.
MTN Uganda has previously reported progress on emissions reduction, 4G and 5G coverage expansion, fibre deployment and community investment through the MTN Foundation. The new report consolidates those strands under a formal sustainability framework and signals that the company intends to treat ESG metrics as part of its ongoing public accountability.
Whether the quantified impact figures influence investor perceptions, regulatory dialogue or public debate will depend on how consistently the company updates the methodology and how external stakeholders scrutinise the underlying assumptions. For now, the report supplies a clear headline number Shs 15.3 trillion in GDP contribution over three years against which future disclosures can be compared.
