South Africa’s MTN Group says it is pressing forward with plans to structurally separate its mobile money business across its African operations, setting the stage for a potential carve-out of its MoMo (mobile money) business in Nigeria.
In a statement seen by Technology Times, the telecoms giant, which owns MTN Nigeria, the nation’s largest mobile network operator (MNO) by subscriber base, says today that its mobile business unit crossed the ₦491.24 trillion mark with over 20 billion transaction serving 63 million active monthly MoMo users in 14 of its 16 markets as of 2024.
The telecoms giant reveals that MTN Uganda has become the first of its listed subsidiaries to secure shareholder approval for the separation of its fintech arm, a move seen as a critical milestone in the Group’s broader Ambition 2025 strategy aimed at transforming MTN into a leading digital solutions platform for Africa.
MTN Group discloses that its MoMo service processed over 20 billion transactions worth $320 billion (₦491.24 trillion) in 2024, with more than 63 million active monthly users across 14 of its 16 operating markets.
Ralph Mupita, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, describes the shareholder approval — passed with 99.9% support — as “an important milestone in the Group’s strategic evolution and delivery of our platform strategy.”
The development strengthens expectations that MTN Nigeria, the MTN Group’s most profitable market, may follow a similar path in the near future, especially as the fintech unit continues to record growth in transactions and customer adoption.
MTN Group discloses that its MoMo service processed over 20 billion transactions worth $320 billion (₦491.24 trillion) in 2024, with more than 63 million active monthly users across 14 of its 16 operating markets.
Momo: Nigerian implications of Uganda’s move
While MTN Nigeria has not formally initiated a shareholder vote to split its MoMo business, industry analysts say that with its parent company’s announcement today, the Ugandan precedent signals the next phase of MTN’s corporate restructuring could soon reach Nigeria, given the country’s central role in the Group’s revenue and subscriber base.
MTN Uganda’s separation of its mobile money arm into a distinct entity — MTN Mobile Money (U) Limited — sets the template for other MTN subsidiaries, including MTN Nigeria, where mobile money is gaining rapid traction.
According to Technology Times analysis of MTN Group’s announcement today, the signal is not just an internal corporate play, it is expected as part of a strategic repositioning to unlock value in the Nigerian fintech space, enhance regulatory compliance, and possibly prepare the MoMo unit for public listing or independent fundraising.
Ghana and the structural separation playbook
MTN Ghana is also undergoing a similar process. At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in May 2025, the company — operating as Scancom PLC — presented plans to restructure its MoMo operations to align with both local financial regulations and MTN Group’s platform strategy.
Like Uganda, the restructuring in Ghana aims to carve out the mobile money arm as a standalone fintech entity with its own governance and operating structure, separate from MTN’s core GSM (voice and data) business.
The strategy, MTN Group says, is designed to drive operational efficiency, scale rapidly, and improve service delivery as Africa’s fintech landscape evolves and competition from banks, startups and other telecom-led fintech providers intensifies.
Ambition 2025 and MoMo’s rising influence
MTN’s “Ambition 2025” plan marks a significant pivot towards platform-based services, with mobile money at the heart of its fintech push. The Group’s goal is to transform MoMo into a pan-African digital financial ecosystem, encompassing payments, lending, insurance, savings, and other digital financial services.
In Nigeria, where MTN’s fintech subsidiary — MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) — launched in 2022, the service has recorded a sharp rise in adoption, driven by cashless policies, mobile-first banking needs, and gaps in traditional financial inclusion.
MoMo PSB allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, and conduct other financial transactions via mobile phones, even without internet access — a feature that has resonated with Nigeria’s unbanked and underbanked populations.
Regulatory landscape and future outlook
While Nigeria’s regulatory environment differs from that of Uganda and Ghana, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been actively promoting the growth of payment service banks and digital financial services as part of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
Any future structural separation of MoMo in Nigeria would likely require approvals from the CBN, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and other relevant stakeholders. However, the commercial logic appears sound, analysts say, as MTN seeks to unlock the full potential of MoMo’s revenue-generating capacity independent of its core telecom operations.
By decoupling its fintech arm, MTN could also tap into new investment streams, pursue strategic partnerships, and possibly list MoMo PSB separately on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), creating more transparency and attracting fintech-focused investors.
Nigerian consumers at the centre
For millions of Nigerian consumers who rely on MoMo for day-to-day transactions, the prospect of a standalone MoMo entity could mean enhanced innovation, improved services, and deeper financial integration — provided the separation comes with improved governance, security, and customer trust.
As MTN Group accelerates its fintech evolution across Africa, Nigeria — with its vast population and mobile penetration — is poised to remain central to the telco’s next big move.
For now, all eyes are on how quickly MTN Nigeria will follow Uganda’s lead and trigger its own process for unlocking MoMo’s full market value.
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