MTN Group and its major subsidiary MTN South Africa have each retained the highest rating under South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework for 2025, continuing a streak that now spans six consecutive years for the group and seven for its South African unit.
The Level 1 status, the top tier under the B-BBEE scoring system, was confirmed in the group’s annual compliance report compiled by an independent verification agency. B-BBEE is a South African policy framework designed to address structural economic inequalities by expanding ownership, management participation, skills development, and procurement opportunities for previously disadvantaged groups.
“For MTN, long-term business success and societal progress are deeply interconnected,” said Ralph Mupita, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer. “Maintaining a Level 1 B-BBEE status over many years reflects this.”
Procurement Scale and Skills Reach
MTN said its 2025 performance was driven by measurable progress across multiple scorecard elements. On procurement, the group spent R8.8 billion with suppliers that are at least 51 percent Black-owned and R11.6 billion with suppliers at least 30 percent Black women-owned, a combined spend that reflects the scale of economic participation MTN is directing through its supply chain.
The group supported 492 learnerships, graduate programmes and targeted skills interventions during the year, concentrating on digital and technical capabilities intended to improve employability and participation in the digital economy.
“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,” said MTN South Africa Chief Executive Officer Ferdi Moolman.
Foundation Reach
Through the MTN South Africa Foundation, the group said its online learning platform reached more than 900,000 learners, while a dedicated skills academy supported over 25,000 beneficiaries, with a focus on women and youth.
MTN said the empowerment programme aligns with its broader Ambition 2030 strategy, which positions connectivity and financial inclusion as engines of economic development across its 16 African markets. The group closed 2025 with more than 307 million subscribers, its strongest commercial performance in years, and group service revenue of R218 billion, up nearly 25 percent year on year.
Officials said the focus going forward will be on embedding transformation deeper into the value chain, from procurement and enterprise support to community development, as the company moves into the new strategic cycle.
