MTN Nigeria says it spent more than N2.7 trillion with Nigerian suppliers in 2025 as local procurement rose to over 62 per cent, underscoring what the telecommunications company describes as a deepening shift toward domestic capacity, ownership and skills development.
Chief Financial Officer Modupe Kadri disclosed the figures at the Nigerian South Africa Chamber of Commerce August 2026 Breakfast Forum, where he presented a paper on 25 years of local content and shared growth.
Kadri said Nigerians now account for 99.9 per cent of MTN Nigeria’s workforce, while the number of expatriate employees has fallen to four from more than 300 in 2021.
He said the company also spent more than N1 trillion on digital infrastructure in 2025 and argued that the next stage of Nigeria’s technology development should involve exporting locally developed services, platforms and intellectual property across Africa.
According to MTN, local procurement rose from 59.6 per cent in 2024 to 62 per cent in 2025.
Kadri said the company viewed local content as more than simply buying goods and services from Nigerian vendors.
He argued that the more important test was whether procurement helped create businesses capable of meeting international standards, developing technical skills and competing beyond Nigeria.
Kadri cited companies that had worked with MTN over the years and expanded into wider African markets as examples of the type of ecosystem the company wanted to support.
He said MTN Nigeria had also paid more than N7 trillion in taxes and statutory payments since it began operations in 2001 and now had more than 346,000 shareholders.
Future opportunities, according to the company, are expected to come from artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres, fibre, fifth generation networks, fintech, cybersecurity, content and intellectual property.
Kadri said Nigerian businesses would need stronger governance, better skills, technology investment and access to patient capital if they were to compete globally.
Separately, indications emerged that MTN Group is seeking Nigerian investors to acquire up to 30 per cent of IHS Nigeria as part of its proposed acquisition of IHS Holding Limited.
Bloomberg reported that the proposed local sell down could raise between $900 million and $1.1 billion, citing people familiar with the transaction.
The move follows conditional approval by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission requiring MTN to sell up to 30 per cent of the Nigerian component of the IHS business to local investors over time and at market based valuations.
MTN Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said proceeds from any sell down would be used to reduce debt associated with the IHS transaction.
IHS operates tens of thousands of telecom towers across Africa, with Nigeria and South Africa among its largest markets.
The proposed acquisition would deepen MTN’s involvement in tower infrastructure years after the group sold many sites to IHS through sale and leaseback transactions.
The transaction remains subject to the applicable regulatory and closing processes.
