The report finds that the era of expansion-led growth is over, with Africa’s business leadership class pivoting from growth narrative to institutional proof.

The report brings together insights from 30 senior executives, founders, investors and policymakers, including Omoyemi Akerele, Founder of Lagos Fashion Week; Dr. Beatrice Murage, Global Director of Sustainability and Access to Care, Philips; Steve Cadigan, First CHRO of LinkedIn and Founder of Cadigan Ventures; Amb. Lavina Ramkissoon, Technology Diplomat, African Union; and Dr. Sangu Delle, CEO, CarePoint.

Spanning more than 20 sectors, including financial services, energy, technology, healthcare, infrastructure and the creative economy, the report identifies four structural shifts already shaping capital allocation, regulatory direction, and competitive positioning across African markets.

Key findings from the report include:

Capital is being repriced: Private credit is replacing equity-led growth as the dominant financing model across the continent.

As global venture funding contracts and exits are slowing down, the contributors describe a structural shift: risk is now assessed on cash flow stability and operational resilience, over narrative momentum or market-size projections. Structured debt, revenue-linked instruments, and risk-partitioned facilities are proving more aligned with local operating realities.

For African businesses, the implications are significant. Access to capital now requires demonstrating durable performance, beyond growth potential.

Accurate risk pricing is now foundational to sustainable capital access and is strengthening repayment culture and credibility with mainstream investors.

AI has moved from experiment to infrastructure: Across fintech, energy, healthcare and compliance, AI is no longer a competitive differentiator but an operational backbone. In healthcare, AI is redesigning workflow, triage, and clinical decision support.

In financial services, it is driving fraud detection, credit underwriting, and compliance monitoring. In communications, it is reshaping how organisations manage reputation and reach.

The competitive distinction, the report finds, has shifted from who is experimenting with AI to who has the governance frameworks to deploy it at scale.

Boards are increasingly expected to interrogate explainability, accountability, and automated decision-making as central governance concerns, not technical matters to delegate downward.

Healthcare is being redesigned, not just funded: Africa’s health systems are undergoing a structural shift. The report identifies a decisive move from volume-based to value-based care – away from counting procedures toward measuring outcomes and cost.

At the same time, care delivery is migrating from centralised hospitals toward decentralised networks of outpatient centres, community hubs, and virtual platforms. On financing, impact investment was identified as a catalytic complement to public funding, not a replacement for it.

Governance has moved from policy to proof: ESG, AI ethics, cybersecurity and social performance are converging into a single accountability framework. Boards are now expected to demonstrate institutional integrity, not report on it.

Compliance effectiveness will be judged less by policies produced and more by behaviours evidenced. A policy commitment is a statement. A proof point is an audit trail. For local and global capital alike, the latter is no longer optional.

Speaking on the report, Marcia Ashong-Sam, Founder and CEO, TheBoardroom Africa, remarks,

“Africa’s challenges have always been its most compelling investment case. What is different now is that its leaders are building the institutions to prove it. TheBoardroom Africa exists because the most consequential thinking about this continent rarely makes it into the public conversation. It stays in boardrooms, in investment committees, in the private deliberations of leaders who are too busy building to narrate what they are building. This report changes that.”

As the continent moves from expansion to optimisation, narrative to proof, and pilot to platform, the leaders who will define this next chapter are already in the room.

The report is available for free download here. 

For over a decade, TheBoardroom Africa has been disrupting the executive search and leadership advisory space, partnering with major organisations like MTN Group, Unilever, British International Investment, Mastercard Foundation, International Finance Corporation, and many more.  With over 70% of its leadership community in the C-suite level, a B Corp-certified firm (a designation held by <10,000 companies globally), embodies the institutional accountability it identifies as the measure of Africa’s next generation of credible leadership in its 2026 report.

The recognition was announced at the 2026 Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands rankings unveiled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

The annual survey, regarded as Africa’s most extensive consumer-led brand study, covered 30 countries representing more than 85% of the continent’s population and economic output.

Dangote ranked first in aided recall, ahead of MTN and Vodacom. MTN, however, led in spontaneous recall, with Dangote coming second in that category and Trade Kings in third place.

The report also ranked Dangote as the continent’s leading industrial brand and placed it first among African brands seen as contributing to a better society. MTN, DStv, Shoprite/Checkers and Trade Kings followed in that category.

Across the board, Brand Africa noted that African brands continually hold a small share of visibility, accounting for 15% of the Top 100 list. European brands made up 38%, North American brands 28%, and Asian brands 19%.

Brand Africa Founder and Chairman, Thebe Ikalafeng, said African consumers still need to strengthen support for locally made products.

“Converting goodwill towards African contribution into admiration for African brands is the most urgent commercial opportunity for the continent. It is not enough for Africans to believe in Africa, they must buy Made-in-Africa,” he said.

Dangote also placed second in the sustainability and social impact category, which recognises brands contributing positively to society and the environment.

The rankings placed Dangote, MTN Group and Ethiopian Airlines among Africa’s strongest indigenous brands, though global names such as Nike, Adidas, Samsung, Apple and Coca-Cola topped the overall Top 100.

The report on Africa’s most admired brand also highlighted recognition for Dangote Industries’ Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, who was named among Africa’s 100 Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers under the ACMO100 list.

The initiative, run in partnership with Brand Africa, African Business magazine, MIPAD and African Media Agency, recognises marketing leaders bolstering brand growth and reputation across the continent and diaspora.

Chiejina was among 17 Nigerians and 20 West African executives selected for the list, based on research covering industry influence, leadership and contribution to brand development.

The latest recognition adds to earlier honours, including Dangote Industries’ induction into the Brand Africa Hall of Fame after years of consistent performance in the rankings. 

Aliko Dangote also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to industrialisation and for building one of Africa’s largest indigenous business groups.

Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show that IHS shareholders will vote on the proposed deal at an extraordinary general meeting in London later this year. 

If approved, MTN will acquire all remaining shares in IHS for $8.50 per share in cash and remove the company from the New York Stock Exchange.

The offer values IHS at an implied equity value of about $2.9 billion, excluding its Latin American operations. The price also represents a 9.7% premium to the company’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of February 4, 2026.

MTN plans to fund the transaction with about $1.1 billion from IHS’s existing balance sheet and another $1.1 billion from its own liquidity and debt facilities.

The deal already has support from shareholders controlling more than 40% of voting rights. MTN’s subsidiary, Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings, agreed to vote its 85.2 million shares in favour of the transaction. Those shares account for roughly 21.1% of IHS voting power.

Another major investor, Oranje-Nassau Développement, linked to French investment group Wendel, also committed its support. The firm controls about 63 million shares, representing nearly 19.6% of voting rights.

MTN investor documents indicate that shareholders representing around 46% of voting power are already aligned behind the transaction ahead of the meeting.

IHS’s board has also endorsed the acquisition. “The board unanimously authorised and approved the execution, delivery and performance of the merger agreement,” the company said in the filing.

Once completed, the transaction will end IHS’s run as a publicly traded company, just five years after its New York listing in 2021. The company had positioned itself as an independent infrastructure provider serving several mobile operators across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Still, MTN has been one of its biggest customers and shareholders for years.

The acquisition will also give MTN direct ownership of a large part of the infrastructure supporting its mobile operations across Africa. IHS operates about 28,700 towers across its markets, including roughly 15,942 towers in Nigeria, where it holds an estimated 41 per cent market share.

MTN operates in all of IHS’s African markets, including Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia.

Telecom operators across Africa have moved to take greater control of critical infrastructure as inflation, currency pressure and network costs squeeze margins.

In 2024, Airtel launched Airtel Africa Fibre to manage its 70,000-kilometre fibre network directly. Safaricom followed in 2025 by taking control of power systems at its telecom sites and deploying its own solar infrastructure instead of relying fully on tower-management contractors.

The IHS deal is expected to reduce dependence on third-party tower companies for MTN, while improving network management and foreign exchange risk control across key markets.

The filing also showed that employee stock awards under IHS’s incentive plans will be converted into cash payments based on the $8.50 offer price if the transaction goes through.

The merger still requires approval from at least two-thirds of votes cast at the shareholder meeting before it can proceed.

The result from Brand Finance shows a mix of scale, steady demand for digital services, and steady investment across its operations.

MTN leads with a brand value of about R50.9 billion and its uniqueness isn’t limited to its size, but how it earns across different markets and services.

The group operates in about 16 countries and serves more than 300 million users, providing a wide and stable base of revenue across Africa.

Mobile data is the main growth driver. More users now depend on data for streaming, communication, and everyday digital activity. This supports recurring income and reduces reliance on traditional voice services.

With demand for connectivity growing, MTN benefits directly from increased data usage across its markets.

Fintech services are also a big part of its growth. MTN has expanded mobile money and digital payment platforms in several countries. These services allow users to transfer funds, make payments, and access financial tools through mobile devices.

The expansion adds new revenue streams and strengthens customer engagement within its ecosystem.

Again, infrastructure investment, where MTN continues to expand and upgrade its network to improve coverage and service quality. These improvements help meet rising demand and maintain user trust in its services.

Strong network performance also helps reduce customer loss to competitors.

The group’s long-term brand visibility has long contributed to its position, with MTN maintaining consistent public presence through partnerships and sponsorships over the years, including its long-running association with national rugby. This visibility has supported brand recognition and trust among users.

Looking at the market environment which has also improved, South Africa’s top brands recorded stronger performance in 2026, supported by improved energy supply, easing inflation, and the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in late 2025.

Structural reforms and a sovereign credit rating upgrade by S&P Global around the same period also contributed to renewed investor confidence.

Jeremy Sampson, chairman of Brand Finance Africa, said: “As South Africa’s economic environment stabilises, the country’s leading brands are demonstrating strong resilience and growth. Sectors such as banking, retail, and telecoms continue to anchor the ranking.

“Strong gains in insurance and beers highlight how sustained brand investment and operational performance can translate into significant brand value growth. Strong brands will continue to play an important role in strengthening investor confidence and supporting South Africa’s long-term economic competitiveness.”

Other brands that joined MTN on the 2026 list included Vodacom Group, which ranks second with a brand value of about R47.9 billion, supported by expansion into markets such as Egypt and Ethiopia and increased use of digital financial services.

Standard Bank Group holds third place at roughly R45 billion, driven by strong corporate banking performance and ongoing investment in digital platforms.

First National Bank and Absa Group benefited from high customer adoption of digital banking services. In retail, Checkers was the strongest brand, supported by high consumer trust, expansion of its delivery services, and consistent customer traffic.

PEP recorded the fastest growth among the top brands, rising 76% to R5.8 billion. Its performance showed expansion across its retail network and increased use of digital payments and financial services.

Five new entrants also joined the rankings in 2026, including Savanna, SANRAL, Valterra Platinum, Oros, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Taken together, MTN’s scale, data-driven revenue, fintech expansion, and steady investment in infrastructure all support its sustained position, even as competition strengthens across telecoms, banking, and retail sectors.

The company said service revenue rose nearly 25% to R218 billion ($13 billion) for the year ended December 31, 2025. Management linked the growth largely to strong performance in its key West African markets, especially MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana.

The result statement also confirmed that 2025 was the final year of the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which focused on expanding data services and digital financial platforms across its markets.

Across the group’s 16 operating countries, the total customer base rose to more than 307 million by the end of the year. Out of that figure, about 172 million were active data users, while about 70 million used mobile money services.

MTN said it invested about R38 billion during the year to strengthen its network and digital platforms. The investment expanded coverage and boosted capacity as demand for data continued to grow.

Data traffic on the network increased by 27%. At the same time, average monthly data usage climbed to 12.5GB per user, up from 10.8GB previously.

The group’s financial technology arm also expanded, with mobile money transactions rising by 15% to more than 23 billion transactions during the year. The total value of those payments exceeded 500 billion dollars.

Profitability also improved significantly, as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation reached R98.5 billion, representing growth of more than one-third in constant currency. The company said cost savings of R3.6 billion helped support that result.

The board declared a dividend of 500 cents per share for the year, a 45% increase from the 345 cents paid in 2024. The payout exceeded the company’s earlier guidance of at least 370 cents.

Group Chief Executive Ralph Mupita said the company will introduce a new shareholder remuneration structure aimed at distributing between 40% and 60% of equity-free cash flow.

The plan includes a share buyback programme of up to R6 billion, which the company said will be carried out gradually from 2026.

Nigeria drives earnings growth

MTN Nigeria swung back to profit after tax of ₦1.1 trillion in 2025, recovering from a ₦400.4 billion loss the previous year when currency depreciation triggered heavy foreign exchange losses, affecting revenue.

In the final quarter of the year alone, pre-tax profit rose to ₦569.6 billion. That was a 248.8% increase compared with ₦163.3 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.

At the group level, the Nigerian subsidiary also overtook MTN South Africa as the largest profit contributor.

Operating earnings in Nigeria more than doubled to about 1.93 billion dollars, far ahead of South Africa’s roughly 1.05 billion dollars. MTN Ghana also posted strong revenue growth, with operating earnings rising to about 1.28 billion dollars.

Together, the expansion in Nigeria and Ghana pushed West Africa to the centre of the company’s profit structure.

Growth supported by scale

Nigeria’s performance shows the size of the country’s telecom market and the growing demand for data and digital payments.

With a population of more than 200 million people and high smartphone use, the market generates large volumes of traffic and digital transactions.

However, the Nigerian operation is very expensive to run. Telecom towers rely heavily on diesel generators because electricity supply is unreliable, and additional security is required for many base stations.

As a result, network operating costs in Nigeria are significantly higher than in South Africa.

Even so, the scale of the market has allowed profits to expand faster than operating costs. Direct network costs rose only slightly during the year, while earnings more than doubled.

Investor confidence returns

Shares of MTN Group have increased nearly 80% over the past year, pushing the company’s market value to about 381 billion rand, or roughly 23.7 billion dollars.

With Nigeria now accounting for a growing share of profits, the country is expected to support the group’s future investment decisions, particularly in network expansion, data services and mobile financial technology.

Documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on February 18 show that MTN will maintain pay and core benefits for IHS employees for one year after the merger takes effect.

IHS had 2,864 employees worldwide as of December 31, 2024. Many of them work in Nigeria, where both companies play major roles in telecoms infrastructure.

Under the agreement, MTN must keep compensation and benefits at levels no less favourable than those in place before the deal closes. The protection period is described in Section 6.7 of the Agreement and Plan of Merger as a 12-month “Continuation Period”.

During that time, base salaries or hourly wages will remain in place. Short-term cash incentives must stay comparable. Health, retirement and welfare benefits must also stay similar in overall value. Defined benefit pensions and some local post-employment benefits are excluded.

MTN has also agreed to honour existing IHS severance terms. Any employee who loses their job during the protection period will receive severance benefits no less favourable than those already provided under IHS policies.

The company will recognise prior years of service for benefit eligibility, vesting and holiday accrual. Staff will not see their tenure reset after the merger.

Equity awards will be handled in cash. Vested stock options and restricted stock units are expected to be cancelled and converted into cash payments based on the merger price.

Unvested awards may be converted into cash-based retention incentives that continue to vest on their original schedules.

The acquisition is structured as an all-cash transaction at $8.50 per share. That represents a 239% premium to IHS’s share price at the start of its 2024 strategic review and a 36% premium to its 52-week average.

The deal excludes IHS’s Latin American assets. It focuses on Africa, the Middle East and selected emerging markets.

Funding will come from $1.1 billion in cash already on IHS’s balance sheet and another $1.1 billion from MTN’s liquidity and debt capacity.

IHS owns and manages about 39,000 telecom towers across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Nigeria is its largest market.

If completed, the transaction will bring those towers under closer control of MTN. The company will rely less on third-party tower operators and will also gain stronger management over passive mobile infrastructure across its footprint.

Reports say this could help MTN cut operating expenses, improve network reliability and speed up 5G rollout in key African markets. It also places MTN in a stronger position against competitors such as Airtel Africa and Orange.

Regulators in Nigeria and other countries are expected to examine the deal as towers are critical national infrastructure. Labour authorities are also likely to monitor how the 12-month pay and benefits guarantee is carried out, especially in markets where both firms employ large workforces.

The offer provides immediate cash at a premium for IHS Towers shareholders and secures long-term control of essential infrastructure for MTN, which underpins its network operations.

Shodunke brings over 29 years of experience in technology leadership, digital transformation and innovation across Africa’s telecommunications landscape.

He has held several senior leadership roles within the industry, including Director of Technology at Vodafone Ghana, Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) at MTN Cameroon, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at MTN Zambia, and General Manager: Architecture for the MTN Shared Services Hub in Southeast Africa.

He currently serves concurrently as Chief Information Officer for MTN Nigeria and MTN South Africa, where he has led large-scale digital initiatives impacting more than 80 million subscribers and oversees a technology ecosystem of over 350 professionals across both operations.

Shodunke is widely recognised for his leadership approach rooted in adaptive intelligence, resilient system design and collaborative value creation.

His work has focused on deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance human creativity, strengthen system resilience and drive innovation at scale.

In 2025, he was named MTN Group CIO of the Year in recognition of his role in driving one of Africa’s most ambitious digital transformation programmes, supporting MTN’s evolution from a traditional telecommunications operator into an AI-enabled technology organisation.

He has also received the Tech Champion in Telecoms and CIO of the Year awards at the CIO and C-Suite Awards Africa.

Shodunke holds an Advanced Management Programme (AMP) from Harvard Business School, an MBA from the University of Northampton, a Postgraduate Diploma in Global Management from the University of Salford, Manchester, and a Bachelor of Technology in Mathematics and Statistics from the Federal University of Technology, Nigeria.

In his new role, he will lead the design and execution of standardised, AI-enhanced IT architectures across MTN Group’s operating companies.

His responsibilities will include driving AI-powered automation, predictive analytics and enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency and service agility, and accelerate innovation cycles and time-to-market.

The meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, focused on the strategic role of the telecommunications sector in driving Nigeria’s socio-economic growth.

Mupita seized the opportunity to thank the Vice President for the support the company continues to enjoy from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

A major highlight of the discussion was the pledge by the telecom giant to support education initiatives across the country. He described how the company is contributing “through sustained capex in networks and platforms, local skills programmes, and partnerships that support digital inclusion and economic participation.” 

Mupita outlined a vision where MTN partners with the government to deliver educational support to the most vulnerable communities, aligning with the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda for human capital development.

On the economic front, the Group CEO noted that recent policy shifts have empowered the company to ramp up its investment in digital infrastructure.

He posited that a strong digital economy is essential for accelerating national growth and expanding the tax base.

Mupita also briefed the Vice President on the investment dialogue which the company supported on the preceding day. Summarising the achievement of the dialogue, he said:

“The engagements aligned reform signals and state opportunities with investor appetite. We agreed focal points and next steps to move several opportunities into diligence.”

At the heart of MTN’s impressive results is MTN Nigeria, which delivered a striking 57.1% growth in service revenue over the period.

This boom reflects the vibrancy of Nigeria’s digital economy, where demand for data and fintech services is surging.

Key drivers of MTN’s growth:

Data revenue jumped by 40%, fueled by a rise in active data subscribers and stronger usage.

Fintech revenue climbed 35.7%, underlining the growing role of mobile money and digital financial services across MTN’s markets.

To support this growth, MTN invested 27.9 billion rand (about $1.63 billion) into infrastructure and capacity expansion.

MTN’s customer base expanded by 5%, bringing the group-wide total to 301 million users.

Importantly, MTN is planning to scale up its AI-powered digital inclusion initiative (in partnership with Microsoft) across Africa in early 2026, a move that could further deepen its presence in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

On the flip side, MTN’s home market, South Africa, saw only 2% service revenue growth, as gains in its postpaid and enterprise segments were weighed down by stiff competition in its prepaid business.

Why this matters for Nigeria:

Economic Significance: The 57.1% growth from MTN Nigeria shows that Nigeria is not just a major contributor but a growth engine for the entire MTN Group.

Digital Ecosystem Strength: Rising data and fintech revenues reflect how more Nigerians are using smartphones and mobile money, important for financial inclusion and digital innovation.

Investment Signal: MTN’s hefty capital investment suggests confidence in the Nigerian market’s long-term potential.

Strategic Leverage: The Microsoft-AI partnership could unlock new possibilities for digital education, productivity, and inclusion for Nigerian users.

[Source: Reuters]

Growth Fueled by Strategy and Scale

The journey to 300 million subscribers was far from accidental, it was the clear target of MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy. In 2024, the group added 6.2 million new customers to end the year at 291 million.

In just the first half of 2025, it acquired another 6.7 million, edging it closer to the landmark figure, according to Tech Central.

Nigeria held the largest share with 84.7 million users by mid-2025, followed by Iran (56 million) and South Africa (39.8 million). Other markets, including Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia, contributed significantly to the climb.

Milestone, But Not the Finish Line

While 300 million subscribers is a headline-winning figure, for MTN it’s both a celebration and a stepping stone. “We’re delighted to have met our 2025 target,” Mupita said, “but our focus now shifts to fintech, digital infrastructure and the connected home.”

Their mobile money platform, MoMo, is already central to this next phase, especially in markets where banking access remains limited. Meanwhile, MTN is ramping up fibre deployments and expanding “smart home” offerings like “MTN Sky Premium”.

Why it Matters for Africa

Reaching 300 million customers is more than a corporate win, it’s a signal of telecoms evolution in Africa. It underscores how connectivity is scaling and how digital services are becoming foundational to economic growth. As MTN deepens its reach, the opportunities for inclusion, innovation and infrastructure expansion multiply.

For Mupita and his team, the message is clear: “We’re not just counting subscribers, we’re enabling digital futures.”