JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Mobile network operator MTN Nigeria announced that it has exceeded the 300,000 subscriber mark.
Since launching service in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja in August and September 2001, the operator has extended the network to include eight other key Nigerian cities, including Ibadan, Owerri, Kano, Kaduna and Enugu.
MTN Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Edwards stated that the faith MTN had placed in the Nigerian market has been fully justified. “At the time, many people questioned our decision to invest US$285 million in a license in Nigeria. The fact is we have been able to quickly establish ourselves as the leading mobile network operator, with more than 50-percent market share. Although the market is challenging, our local management team has drawn on experience gained in our other operations in Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon and Swaziland, and has built a very successful business in a remarkably short space of time.”
Edwards added that the financial performance of the Nigerian operation had exceeded the company’s expectations. “We had originally planned to achieve 175,000 active subscribers by end-March. We have almost doubled this figure, while also exceeding our projected revenue per subscriber,” he added.
“We are pleased to note that other South African companies are following MTN’s lead and are investing in the Nigerian market, which is the second-largest market in Africa. This will strengthen ties with Nigeria while providing good growth opportunities. To date, MTN Nigeria’s projected investment of US$1 billion represents the largest private investment outside of the oil industry,” said Edwards.
Edwards also reported that MTN Cameroon, one of MTN’s most recent acquisitions, exceeded the 220,000 subscriber mark. “Cameroon was especially challenging to us, as it was the first Francophone country that we operated in. We were also up against France T
