Telecommunications giant MTN Group and its subsidiary MTN South Africa have both sustained their respective Level 1 broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) contributor status in 2025.

This marks the sixth consecutive year for MTN Group and the seventh consecutive year for MTN South Africa.

“For MTN, long-term business success and societal progress are deeply interconnected. Maintaining a Level 1 BBBEE status over many years reflects this,” said MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita.

BBBEE aims to address economic inequalities, expand economic participation and strengthen long-term resilience in South Africa.

MTN’s strategic priority to create shared value includes work to drive digital and financial inclusion across its markets, supporting economic development and creating a more connected and equitable Africa.

MTN’s sustained Level 1 performance is underpinned by consistent progress across the scorecard, including strong outcomes in the category of ‘skills development’, alongside continued momentum in ‘enterprise and supplier development’ and ‘socioeconomic development’.

Leadership transformation continues to advance at the highest levels of governance: the MTN South Africa and MTN Group board of directors.

Further, MTN’s investment in skills development responds directly to South Africa’s pressing need for future-ready capabilities.

During 2025, MTN supported 492 learnerships, graduate programmes and targeted skills interventions, with a strong focus on digital and technical skills that enhance employability, business sustainability and participation in the digital economy.

In addition, ‘preferential procurement’ remains a powerful lever for inclusive growth and a key enabler of MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy.

During 2025, MTN spent R8.8-billion with 51% Black‑owned suppliers and R11.6-billion with 30% Black women-owned suppliers, leveraging the company’s scale to strengthen enterprises, deepen local participation and stimulate economic ecosystems across South Africa.

“By using our procurement spend, skills programmes and partnerships to enable real economic participation, MTN South Africa is driving impact that extends well beyond compliance,” added MTN South Africa CEO Ferdi Moolman.

“Through the MTN South Africa Foundation, we continue to deliver tangible impact in education and digital inclusion,” he said, highlighting initiatives such as the MTN Online School, reaching 905 000 learners, and the MTN Skills Academy, reaching 25 023 beneficiaries, which focuses on women and youth and supports pathways to employability, entrepreneurship and sustained participation in the digital economy.

MTN said it remained committed to embedding transformation across its entire value chain, ensuring that procurement, skills development, enterprise support and community initiatives were rooted in local realities.

“Through this approach, we continue to enable inclusive growth, strengthen economic resilience and contribute to a more equitable and digitally connected South Africa.”