MTN Uganda has officially received the green light from its shareholders for a pivotal strategic move: the structural separation of its highly successful mobile money and fintech business, MTN MoMo. This decision, passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), marks a significant step towards unlocking new value and fostering deeper innovation in Uganda’s burgeoning digital economy.
The approved separation paves the way for MTN MoMo to merge into a new, distinct company. This new entity will be majority-owned by MTN Group Fintech Holdings B.V., signalling a focused approach to expanding MTN’s fintech footprint across its operating markets. Crucially, MTN Uganda has affirmed its commitment to its existing shareholders, both institutional and retail, who will continue to benefit from the growth and success of the new MoMo entity through a carefully designed trust structure, ensuring long-term shared value.
Commenting on the momentous approval, MTN Uganda CEO, Sylvia Mulinge, hailed the decision as “a powerful vote of confidence in MTN Uganda’s growth story.” Her remarks underscored the strategic importance of this unbundling and the positive outlook it presents for the company and its stakeholders.
“With full shareholder approval for the structural separation of MTN MoMo, we’re entering a new chapter in fintech innovation and value creation,” Mulinge stated. This move is expected to grant MoMo greater agility and focus, allowing it to accelerate its product development and market penetration in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.
Mulinge also highlighted the collaborative effort and robust governance underpinning the decision. “We’re especially proud of the trust placed in us by our investors both institutional and retail and the active participation of key stakeholders, including our regulators and USE (Uganda Securities Exchange),” she noted. The presence and engagement of these critical groups at the EGM were not merely symbolic. As Mulinge articulated, it “signaled the strength of our governance, the transparency of this process, and the shared belief in MTN’s long-term vision for inclusive, digital led growth.”
This strategic separation aligns with a growing global trend among telecommunications companies to unbundle their mobile money and fintech operations. The aim is often to attract specialized investment, enhance regulatory compliance, and fully realize the distinct growth potential of these high-growth segments without the complexities of being solely embedded within a broader telco structure.
For MTN Uganda, this milestone reinforces its commitment to its foundational vision for digital and financial inclusion. By creating a dedicated fintech powerhouse, MTN MoMo is poised to significantly expand access to financial services, drive digital transformation, and contribute more robustly to Uganda’s economic development.
“This milestone reinforces what we’ve always known: when we build with trust, transparency, and purpose, our journey becomes unstoppable,” Mulinge concluded, conveying a strong sense of optimism for MTN MoMo’s future as an independent, yet intrinsically linked, component of the MTN Group’s larger digital ecosystem.
The approved separation sets the stage for MTN MoMo to become an even more formidable player in Uganda’s financial technology sector, delivering enhanced value to customers, shareholders, and the broader economy.
