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As part of the agreement, MTN’s business will use Mastercard’s technology infrastructure to expand its payments and remittance services in Africa. The announcement comes as Africa’s young, tech-savvy population are increasingly using their mobile phones to bridge gaps in services including banking. That’s opened a lucrative and fast-growing space in the fintech sector for wireless carriers.
MTN has said previously it plans to raise 25 billion rand from asset sales. Its most recent disposals include the sale and lease-back of its South African mobile-phone towers and a plan to sell some of its West African assets. It also has a stake in New York-listed tower owner IHS Holding Ltd. that it may sell down, although the tower firm’s low trading prices and a dispute with its management has delayed any sale in the near-term.
