Ralph Mupita, President and CEO of MTN Group, compared the scale of the continent to that of India, a single-country market
Not for the first time, MTN’s Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita (pictured) has urged governments across Africa to consider harmonising regulations, particularly for the tech sector. He argues this would encourage increased capital investment in digital infrastructure which is needed to accelerate economic development.
Mupita was speaking at the opening of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. The theme of the event was At the table or on the menu? – A critical moment to shape a new future for Africa. It was attended by2, 000 business leaders, CEOs, investors, heads of state and ministers.
He highlighted the many, diverse regulations that apply across Africa, which has a population of similar size to India, a single country with one set of regulations. Mupita said harmonisation give investors more certainty, including being able to better anticipate their returns which encourages investment.
Only about 500 million of the 1.2 billion people living in Africa subscribe to mobile services and of them, 57% use 2G. This means only a quarter of Africans have access to the internet and most cannot afford smartphones and so are are digitally excluded.
MTN Group has mobile operations in 17 countries in Africa and “is working to extend digital inclusion in line with UN goals for universal broadband access”.