MTN’s CDO highlights digital services as next growth driver
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Digital Officer, A’isha Umar Mumuni, described digital services as the “next growth frontier” for both the company and the country, highlighting the pivotal role of telecom infrastructure in driving innovation across sectors such as health, education, and entertainment.
Speaking to fellows of the MTN Media Innovation Program (MIP) at Pan-Atlantic University on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Mumuni emphasised that telecommunications has evolved far beyond the traditional sale of airtime, becoming a catalyst for digital transformation and socio-economic development. “People don’t buy data for the sake of data,” she said. “They buy it to communicate, to shop, to learn, to entertain. Digital services are about meeting those needs in meaningful ways.”
She also explained how Nigeria’s telecoms industry has evolved from traditional offerings, first voice and SMS, to value-added services such as caller tunes and premium alerts. Today, the focus is on lifestyle services that combine content, utilities, and transactions.
Examples include Apple Music subscriptions bundled with MTN data, MTN Showmax streaming services, and locally developed, innovative services such as WhoDeyCall, which allows subscribers to identify callers without using mobile data. According to Mumuni, these services are not just about revenue but about customer loyalty. “If people are enjoying digital services on your network, they’re more likely to stay there,” she said.
With more than 84 million subscribers – that is, about one in every three Nigerians – MTN has the scale to make digital services widely available. Mumuni noted that although only about 40 million MTN users have smartphones, basic phones can still use SMS and USSD services, helping extend digital access to rural and low-income communities.
The wide network coverage, she continued, is MTN’s competitive advantage. “We don’t create content ourselves. What we do best is distribute it, advertise it, and get people to pay for it. Our role is to bring the infrastructure and scale so that innovators can reach millions,” she told the students.
Mumuni acknowledged that there are still challenges, such as patchy 4G and 5G coverage outside major cities, the cost of data-enabled devices, and low digital literacy. She added that affordability is still a problem, despite the fact that 1GB of data costs under 2% of household income.
Mumuni pointed to future opportunities such as building web APIs, using AI to personalise services, and driving digitisation in health and education. She cited China’s quick shift to QR-code payments as proof that the right platforms can transform entire economies.
She added that digital services could be as important to Nigeria’s economy as oil once was. With more than 170 million phone users, the country’s size makes it one of the most attractive markets for innovation.
“Digital services are the next growth frontier for Nigeria,” she said. With the right products and execution, they will not just transform our company, but our economy.”
She ended her lecture by reminding the Fellows that digital services and the Digital Economy are already shaping Nigeria’s economy. “They are not just the future of telco,” she said. “They are the future of Nigeria.
