MTN to Invest $1B to Expand 5G Network in Ghana

South Africa-based telecom MTN will reportedly invest $1 billion in Ghana.

The investment — which is to be made over the next five years — was announced after the Ghanaian government canceled a $773 million tax claim against the firm’s local office, Reuters reported Wednesday (Feb. 15).

The Ghana Revenue Authority had demanded the payment of back taxes after auditing MTM and determining that the firm had underdeclared its revenue by 30% from 2014 to 2018 but dropped the claim after South Africa’s foreign minister complained, according to the report.

The $1 billion investment will be used to expand MTN’s 5G network in Ghana and comes at a time when the country is coping with 50% inflation and a sharp drop in the value of its currency, the report stated.

As PYMNTS reported in October, Ghana has also been coping with high interest rate increases that have impacted the cost of capital and created challenges for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to access credit — not to mention the households that are now facing a crippling cost-of-living crisis.

MTN did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The investment will join several developments MTN has been involved in across Africa.

In January, the firm partnered with FinTech Optasia and Ecobank to launch a mobile money microloan service in Guinea.

The service will be offered to MTN subscribers in the country with Ecobank providing the capital, Optasia’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology powering the loan decisions and MTN’s Mobile Money enabling the loan disbursements.

About six months earlier, in June 2022, MTN added its own smartphone to its Ugandan unit’s “pay mpola mpola” device financing plan, which allows customers to pay for a new device in daily, weekly or monthly installments.

The firm had said earlier that it aims to increase access to handsets and expand 4G and 5G coverage in Uganda, intending to have 90% network coverage in the country within five years.

MTN will make the $1 billion investment in Ghana despite the economic headwinds it is currently facing, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita said, according to the report.

“To be sure, macroeconomic conditions are very challenging in the near term,” Mupita said, per Reuters. “That said, we are focused on the medium and long term, and we are seeing growth.”

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