👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Day by day – MTN’s CEO roams into new territory

MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola, is getting an even bigger desk and extra headache. 

Beginning November 1, 2025, he will start a brand new however acquainted position because the Vice President of Francophone Africa for the MTN Group. Toriola can be doing all this whereas conserving his position as CEO of MTN Nigeria, the most important and most worthwhile subsidiary of MTN Group.

The appointment is a part of MTN’s broader management reshuffle because the group refines its Ambition 2025 technique to stay robust in three core areas: connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure. 

Catch up: Toriola has led MTN Nigeria since 2021 however earlier than that he already held management roles in Francophone West Africa since 2010. The transfer is principally him going into extra acquainted territory and ensuring MTN Group stays on observe in its core priorities. 

State of play: Toriola isn’t the one one at MTN being moved round. The reshuffling additionally sees Ebenezer Asante, beforehand Senior Vice President of Markets, now heading operations in Ghana, Southern, and East Africa. With these strikes, MTN Group is making an attempt to create regional energy facilities. 

Zoom out: MTN Nigeria beneath Toriola’s management has pulled some spectacular numbers not too long ago. In H1 2025, The telecom firm additionally noticed a web revenue of 414.9 billion naira ($271 million), reversing a ₦519.1 billion ($339 million) loss final yr. The bigger mother or father firm MTN Group needs to organize for post-2025 development by placing confirmed operators like Toriola in control of regional clusters. His new position may additionally imply that Nigeria and Francophone Africa can be managed as interconnected markets relatively than separate territories. All eyes on what’s subsequent from MTN Group.

Right here’s a poser to open this blurb: When a big investor sells its holding in a enterprise, what does it usually signify? 

“We don’t belief you anymore.”? Or, “now we have greater priorities that don’t contain you”? Nedbank’s pull from Ecobank is likely to be the latter.

On August 15, Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth-largest industrial financial institution by belongings, bought its stake in Ecobank to Cameroonian financier Alain Nkontchou, for $100 million. Nedbank beforehand held a 21.2% stake in Ecobank, which it acquired in 2014 for $500 million. 

Nkontchou’s funding agency, Bosquet Investments, which controls $1.2 billion in non-public belongings, will assume management of Nedbank’s stake as soon as the deal is authorised.

Ten days earlier than the sale, Nedbank introduced its plan to completely exit Ecobank, refocus its funding in its house turf, South Africa, and discover deepening its operations in East Africa. A part of that transfer has seen Nedbank purchase iKhokha for R1.65 billion ($94 million) to deepen its play in service provider funds.

Between the traces: Whereas Nedbank is taking a $400 million haircut to dump the stake, the deal is likely to be extra about its priorities and fewer about Ecobank’s well being. In 2024, Ecobank reported a strong yr, with $658 million in revenue earlier than tax and a return on tangible fairness (ROTE) of 32.7%, a key metric that signifies how successfully a financial institution converts its capital into revenue. 

Zoom out: Ecobank itself is reshuffling its pan-African ambitions, after promoting off its underperforming enterprise in Mozambique. Ecobank has traditionally struggled, however the current numbers counsel it is likely to be turning a tide.

Ghana appears to have a critical beef with MultiChoice and its costs. Simply final month, the federal government ordered the pay TV large to slash its costs by 30%. 

Now, the nation’s Communications Minister, Sam George, is charging MultiChoice Ghana $920 per day for refusing handy over pricing breakdowns to justify their subscription charges. The positive began final week Friday, after MultiChoice missed the August 11 deadline to supply detailed bouquet costs, tax elements, and comparisons with six different African markets. 

What’s Ghana’s deal actually? Effectively, the federal government needs to see if MultiChoice’s costs are literally justified or if they’re simply milking Ghanaian prospects. The minister has given them till September 6 to both present the much-needed knowledge and agree to cost cuts or threat having their working license suspended. 

Extra regulatory hassle: One other regulator, Ghana’s Nationwide Communications Authority (NCA), has additionally issued a shutdown discover after MultiChoice failed to chop subscription charges by 30% by the August 7 deadline. The pay TV large was given one other 30 days, till September 8 to fulfill the deadline. 

Large Image: African governments are getting extra aggressive with firms over shopper pricing, particularly after current macroeconomic hurdles. In June 2025, Nigerian regulators efficiently pressured MultiChoice into slashing costs by 50%. Regulators need to shield the shoppers, however MultiChoice has eyes on an increasing number of income. Who will win? 

Rising regulatory hurdles may additionally pose a problem for Canal+, the French media group that secured approval in July to accumulate MultiChoice for $2 billion as a part of its Africa enlargement drive.

Chams, CWG, and eTranzact have been busy — producing ₦59.93 billion ($38.5 million) in H1, 2025, a 29.17% rise from final yr. Collectively, the trio earned ₦15.95 billion ($10 million) in gross revenue, a 43.49% bounce from H1 2024, and their shares are driving the wave. CWG’s share worth is up 117.45% this yr, eTranzact has gained 63.85%, and Chams has climbed 35.71%.

CWG leads the pack with ₦36.77 billion ($24 million), powered by software program, IT infrastructure, and managed providers for banks, telcos, and governments throughout Africa. Its software program income alone doubled to ₦19.95 billion ($13 million), with almost half coming from exterior Nigeria.

Chams adopted with ₦9.88 billion ($6.4 million), largely from funds and id card gross sales. The 40-year-old agency, which counts INEC, Customs, NHIS, and several other banks as purchasers, is now doubling down on SIM card manufacturing and cross-border funds.

eTranzact, in the meantime, posted ₦13.28 billion ($9 million), a 5.43% decline as airtime gross sales slowed, however gross revenue rose 39.58% due to decrease prices. Airtime stays its spine, however its fintech play — PocketMoni, PayOutlet, and SwitchIT — is the place the corporate is betting its future.

Taken collectively, the outcomes present how listed tech corporations are discovering methods to maintain income flowing whereas diversifying revenue streams.