NOMPILO MORAFO | Business success and social prosperity are bound together

There is a unique, almost tangible hope you encounter across Africa today. You feel it in community centres and township hubs where young people share a single Wi-Fi connection and a great many ambitions.

You feel it at markets where a phone has become a till, a bank, a shopfront and, for many traders, the first step towards something bigger.

I feel it in the young people I meet, in the communities and customers MTN Group serves, and in the determination of so many Africans to build a better life. But hope, however strong, must be met with opportunity.

Across our continent, governments are investing in infrastructure, education and the digital economy, often with limited resources and competing demands.

Yet the scale of what is needed is greater than any single institution can meet alone. This is where Africa’s leading companies can, and must, step forward.

That does not mean charity. What the continent needs, and wants, are sustainable businesses committed to serving citizens for the long term.

Those businesses cannot invest in the infrastructure and services required without operating profitably.

And they, in turn, cannot remain profitable unless the markets they serve are thriving. The two’s prosperity are bound together.

When young people cannot access quality education, talent goes undeveloped. When economic exclusion grows, social instability and political uncertainty often follow. When infrastructure fails to keep pace with demand, opportunity is constrained for everyone.

The greatest social impact occurs when businesses deploy their expertise to address societal challenges aligned to their core capabilities.

Corporate purpose drives social impact

What holds all of this together is corporate purpose. It guides strategic decision-making, encourages innovation and drives growth. Importantly, it inspires employees and unites them around the work that needs to be done.

It also gives customers and communities good reason to trust business. Discerning customers compare brand promises with actual business practices as well as employee experiences.

The MTN Group’s commitment to supporting Africa’s prosperity is not separate from our responsibility to deliver returns to our shareholders: they are two sides of the same coin

—  Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs officer

At the MTN Group, our purpose is “leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress”. It encourages our people to not just build their careers with us, but to help build the kind of society and continent they want to see.

This social consciousness also becomes a magnet for top talent who want to make a real difference.

With more than 317-million customers, there is no doubt that the MTN Group’s fortunes are inextricably linked to those of the continent.

We want a prosperous Africa and are committed to playing our part in supporting the achievement of that goal. It is not separate from our responsibility to deliver returns to our shareholders: they are two sides of the same coin.

So how do we do this? By connecting people to the power of the mobile internet, we drive digital inclusion. Through platforms like MTN Mobile Money, we drive financial inclusion and enable millions of people to participate more fully in the formal economy.

The importance of showing up

At the MTN Group, we recognise the importance of collaboration and, through our engagement with governments across our markets, deliberately pursue conversations around issues that matter to society.

Unemployment, migration, social cohesion, climate resilience and education are often viewed as public policy concerns, yet they have profound implications for businesses too.

In October, the MTN Group held its annual Ambassador’s Appreciation Dinner. It was an opportunity to strengthen its relationships with the diplomatic community, governments, leaders of public sector and intergovernmental agencies, pan-African business and civil society.

It was also an opportunity to showcase its annual employee volunteerism campaign, “21 Days of Y’ello Care”.

Since 2007, Y’ello Care has mobilised employees across MTN’s markets to devote their time and expertise to pressing social challenges.

This year, MTN’s efforts were guided by the theme “Expanding equitable health for every community”.

For three weeks in June, more than 6,300 employees contributed over 50,000 volunteer hours, reaching more than 400,000 direct beneficiaries.

The theme became even more relevant after the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and spread to neighbouring markets.

When businesses align their capabilities with societal needs, social impact and commercial value reinforce each other

—  Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs officer

The most meaningful results of volunteers’ work came where teams applied MTN’s own capabilities.

MTN eSwatini, overall winner of the 2026 Y’ello Care Awards for the fifth time, partnered with The Luke Commission on a medical drone link to a remote clinic, cutting medicine delivery times from as many as four hours by road to as little as 30 minutes.

In Uganda, volunteers supported maternal and child healthcare while equipping community health workers with smartphones and digital skills training.

In Benin, teams partnered with the Ministry of Health on blood donation drives, children’s surgeries and facility improvements.

What made these initiatives matter was not only their scale, but because they show that when businesses align their capabilities with societal needs, social impact and commercial value reinforce each other.

That is how trust is strengthened, stakeholder relationships deepened, and the social licence on which sustainable growth depends is reinforced.

I am optimistic about the continent: Africa’s future will be shaped not by governments or businesses acting alone, but by partnerships built on a shared understanding that economic and societal progress advance together.

In the end, the companies that endure will not be remembered only for the wealth they created, but for the opportunities they unlocked, the trust they earned and the societies they helped build. That is not philanthropy. It is good business.

This article was sponsored by the MTN Group.