Reimagining the old AfricaCom as The Africa Tech Festival is more than just a rebranding exercise: it reflects just how the African telecoms and tech market has changed – from interesting market to one that is actually starting to take a lead in shaping the mobile content and services market.
And running alongside the ‘Festival’, African carrier MTN’s Digital Partner Connect 2025 event offered an on-the-ground insight into how rapidly the African telecoms and tech markets are evolving in sync with one another – and why, as with any advancing marketing or technology, nothing ever moves forward in smooth leaps and bounds.
The event underscored MTN’s continued strategic momentum and the accelerating evolution of Africa’s digital ecosystem. The narrative reflected a sector in transition —modernising, scaling and aligning for the next phase of growth — while also acknowledging the learning curve that comes with leading transformation at continent-wide scale. The focus was not on setbacks, but on how MTN and its partners are actively shaping what comes next.
On a practical level that manifested as MTN looking to drive the event’s audience of some 120 attendees, including MTN Group and MTN SA execs, the company’s strategic content, advertising and e-vertical partners and our own head of strategy, Anzelle Robertson, to “reflect, reset and reconnect”, to borrow the event’s tag line. Reflect on the year just gone; look at how to move it on; and how to build the connections – digital, physical and emotional – to make that happen.
The African telemedia market – that sweet spot where content, billing and marketing meet – is one of the most potentially lucrative of all the world’s regions. Developments across telecoms and the consumer embrace of mobile payments, commerce and entertainment has been rapid. But the market still sees more than a billion people unconnected and, according to 2024 figures from the International Telecoms Union, only 38% of Africans are online, compared to the global average of 68%.
Adapting to thrive
To rise to this challenge the fabric of the telecoms business in Africa has to change – from the network tech to competition within markets to regulation and compliance – and, with this process underway, the market has seen upheaval.
The good news is that, at the MTN event at least, key players in the ecosystem have managed to largely adapt to this rapidly changing world and are starting to deliver the partnerships and inclusion that the market sorely needs.
This was reflected by Burak Akinci, CEO : MTN Digital Services, who’s opening remarks emphasised how MTN is intentional about being Africa’s gateway to digital services and inclusion. “This week reaffirmed something I firmly believe: Africa is not waiting for the future we are building it,” he says.
Backing this up, Jon Hoehler, Head of Digital Content at MTN South Africa’s Consumer Business Unit, gave an overview of MTN Digital’s year and shared their plans for 2026 that shows the role the carrier is planning to play in this leadership push that Africa has undertaken.
He says the event allows key players to “look back on the year that has been and reflect on the myriad challenges of 2025 that have impacted partners and give them an opportunity for mass official communication. We want to use our platform to reaffirm our commitment to the success and growth of partners and to foster collaboration and open two-sided communications.”
Hoehler used is presentation to position MTN as the gateway to Africa’s digital lifestyle. “Together, we are shaping ecosystems that connect, empower and create opportunities for our 300 million customers across the continent and are accelerating next-generation digital lifestyle experiences through enhanced platforms, richer content and diversified payment options,” he says.
Hoehler outlined how this was happening through deepening collaboration with partners to deliver innovative products and strengthening usage and engagement, modernising commercial models, while elevating quality partnerships and streamlining the portfolio to drive sustainable, scalable growth.
He also told the audience that MTN was “Enhancing customer engagement through more intuitive journeys, seamless onboarding and improved digital touchpoints and was driving innovation through co-creation, ensuring products reflect local relevance, user needs and emerging digital behaviours.”
The broader picture
Drawing on the wider industry, the event’s highlight was a panel passionately and energetically chaired by Oreratile Itumeleng, Digital Strategy, Integration and GTM at MTN, drawing on the expertise of Bruce Knox, Founder, Penrose Systems, Arun Mathew, Chief Commercial Officer, Hyve Mobile, Denvor Daniels, Head of Advertising, MTN Advertising, and Anzelle Robertson, Head of Strategy at World Telemedia.
The panel explored how the mobile content and payments ecosystem is shifting globally and locally, driven by evolving consumer behaviour and tighter economic conditions. Speakers highlighted the need for stronger business model innovation, improved customer value and more sustainable commercial approaches across the industry.
MTN noted a shift towards consolidation, rationalisation and offering more focused next generation digital services that can drive value to core telco offerings through bundling and incentives.
There was a clear emphasis on diversifying acquisition and marketing channels, moving beyond single-channel dependency to more balanced, performance-driven strategies. MTN Ads was spotlighted as a key enabler in this shift, offering improved targeting, better optimisation and more efficient pathways to reach the right customers.
It was noted that MTN Ads is already helping to reduce CPAs and improve ROI, creating a stronger, data-led foundation for future digital growth.
The conversation reinforced the importance of collaborative innovation, with partners and MTN working together to refine journeys, strengthen retention, and build digital services that respond to real user needs.
Panellists agreed that the next opportunities will emerge from new payment experiences, personalised customer engagement, and more flexible commercial structures that support long-term sustainability.
Audience engagement then gave a perspective on how rationalisation often drives the need to work with local aggregators, who have existing market expertise and why that is important for speed to market.
The session closed with a shared view that agility, partnership and ecosystem-wide alignment will be essential in capturing the next wave of digital transformation.
And the winner is…
MTN’s event wasn’t just a talking shop, its reflections on the year gone by were made manifest by a slew of awards presented at the close of the event to those that have made a powerful contribution to moving the African market ahead and fostering the cooperation and relationships the telemedia ecosystem needs in to thrive across the continent.
The awards were as follows:
- Best product innovation: KnowRoaming for MTN Travel eSim
- Best next gen service: Simba Solutions for Learnhub+
- Best marketing initiatives: AWG for MTN FC
- Best overall Partner – MTN SA: Penrose Systems
- Best Customer experience: Basebone and Telecoming
- Most improved partner / Best growth – Yellowdot Games and PCCW Vuclip
- Best Customer Experience & Innovation Excellence (MTN Group) – PM Connect
- Best Strategic Growth Leadership (MTN Group)- Digital Virgo
Commenting on the awards night, Jason Probert, GM for Digital Services says: “Tonight gave us a moment to reflect on a challenging year, reset our direction for 2026, and reconnect with the partners who power this ecosystem. In a landscape shaped by shifting consumer behaviour and the need to streamline and optimise, the discussions were honest, productive and future-focused. Celebrating our top partners was a highlight — a reminder that our greatest progress comes from what we build together.”
