MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita met International Monetary Fund First Deputy Managing Director Dan Katz on Wednesday to discuss the macroeconomic outlook in key African markets and the role of the digital economy in driving sustainable growth. Katz is in South Africa for meetings with government authorities and private-sector representatives.
Mupita said the conversation focused on South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, markets central to MTN’s operations, and on the potential of digital platforms to support broader economic progress across the continent. “Given MTN’s pan-African presence and position, as well as our role in advancing digital and financial inclusion, the discussion centred on the macroeconomic outlook across our key markets,” he noted. “In particular, we discussed the power of the digital economy to drive sustainable growth across the continent.”
The MTN team included Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo, Treasury Executive Thuto Shomang and Chief of Staff Jerry Varachia. Mupita emphasised the value of collaboration with global partners to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation and said the company looks forward to further engagement with IMF leadership.
MTN frames its purpose as “leading digital solutions for Africa,” guided by its Ambition 2030 strategy. The group operates across multiple markets, providing connectivity, mobile financial services through MoMo and digital infrastructure. The meeting with the IMF sits within a wider pattern of private-sector dialogue with multilateral institutions on how digital infrastructure, financial inclusion and policy frameworks can support growth amid global uncertainty.
For Africa’s largest mobile operator, engagement with the IMF offers a channel to highlight the practical constraints and opportunities of scaling digital services ranging from network investment and energy reliability to regulatory predictability in markets that remain central to the continent’s economic outlook. The discussion itself does not announce new programmes or financing, but signals continued high-level attention to the intersection of telecoms, fintech and macroeconomic resilience.
