Telecom
MTN, Ecobank Partner to Tackle Financial Inclusion Across Africa
In an unprecedented move to accelerate financial inclusion across Africa, MTN Group, leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company, and Ecobank, Pan-African banking conglomerate, have come together to provide mobile financial services across the various African countries where they currently operate.
The partnership which was announced Tuesday 10th April, 2018 at a launch event in Lagos will see MTN and Ecobank work together in delivering a distinct customer experience by providing value-added mobile financial products and services, allowing them to innovate and enhance access to affordable financial services via MTN Mobile Money and Ecobank Banking services.
Commenting on the collaboration, Rob Shuter, MTN Group President and CEO, said: “Partnerships between banks and mobile money operators are fundamental in the mobile money ecosystem, hence our long-standing partnership with Ecobank in many of our markets aimed at driving financial inclusion.
“We are excited to be taking this partnership to the next level as this latest development will spearhead innovative initiatives which will deepen financial access on the continent.”
He added that MTN is open to working with other financial institutions in order to bridge the financial divide.
Commenting on the collaboration, Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank, said, “Combining Ecobank’s innovative digital banking range with MTN’s enormous subscriber base means that virtually every African can now have an instant bank account, savings accounts, loans and make instant remittances on their mobile phone.”
“Ecobank’s digital strategy has long been committed to providing banking facilities to the mass market.
“We have already made giant strides in our mission to ensure financial inclusion and today’s agreement with MTN will greatly accelerate the easy availability of banking facilities to the previously unbanked.”
Although over 80% of Africans have mobile phones, only a quarter(28%) of them have a bank account.
However, mobile banking and e-wallets offer a range of alternative payment methods as well as lending and savings services.
The Financial Inclusion Insights of 2015 also showed that only about 2 in 5 Nigerian adults own a financial account while just twelve percent of Nigerians are aware of mobile money services.
The recent financial inclusion report by FinScope Survey shows that financial inclusion can be stepped up by linking mobile money platforms to financial institutions.
This, experts say, would create credit history for clients and foster financial inclusion.
With this partnership, MTN will leverage Ecobank’s payments infrastructure to facilitate money transfer via mobile wallets across the MTN and Ecobank footprints.
It will also spearhead new innovations to initiate financial access in Africa and beyond as well as encourage other financial institutions to leverage on MTNs ecosystem and distribution.
The Ecobank-MTN partnership will enable; Bank-to-MTN Mobile Money wallet and wallet-to-bank transfers and cardless ATM withdrawal for MTN Mobile Money users.
The partnership will use the rapid transfer platform to provide MTN Mobile Money users to make intra-Africa funds transfers.
The partnership will provide savings accounts and lending solutions to MTN Mobile Money users.
MTN Mobile Money agents will be able to create and redeem e-money through Ecobank branches.
Ecobank merchants can also accept payments from MTN Mobile Money users.
The use of MTN Mobile Money as a payment solution in Ecobank’s corporate offering will enable salary payment and corporate supplier’s payments to be made through MTN Mobile Money.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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