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MTN Rwanda

MTN Rwandacell Plc, commonly referred to as MTN Rwanda, is the largest telecommunications company in Rwanda, with an estimated 7 million subscribers, accounting for 62 percent market share, as of 30 July 2023.[1]

History

MTN Rwanda was established in 1998 during the reconstruction of the Rwanda economy in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.[2]

It is a subsidiary of MTN Group, a multinational telecommunications group connecting about 232 million people in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East, as of 2016.[3]

In May 2021, the shares of stock of MTN Rwanda were listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.[4][5] This impelled the closure of Crystal Telecom Rwanda, owned by the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), the party of Paul Kagame which had been a vehicle for the "public" to own shares in MTN.[6]

As of 31 December 2022, the shareholding of the stock of MTN Rwanda was as illustrated in the table below.[7]

In 2023, the company marked its 25th year of existence by planting 25,000 in Nyarugenge District, as part of the parent MTN Group's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.[8]

Governance

As of February 2022, the chairman of MTN Rwanda was Faustin K. Mbundu, an independent, non executive director.[9] The CEO/Managing Director, as of January 2024, is Mapula Bodibe.[10]

Fintech

Mobile Money (MoMo)

MTN Rwanda introduced mobile money services to the country in February 2010, initially as a value-added service under the telecom license.[11]

In April 2021, the company restructured this division into a standalone subsidiary, Mobile Money Rwanda Ltd, to comply with National Bank of Rwanda regulations requiring the separation of digital financial services from core telecommunications operations.[12]

  • User Base: As of September 2025, the service had 5.8 million active users.[13]
  • Merchant Payments: The "MoMoPay" merchant network expanded to 577,000 active merchants by late 2025, establishing it as the primary cashless payment method in the country.[13]
  • Transaction Volume: In the 2024 financial year, the platform processed 1.9 billion transactions. The total value of these transactions surged to Rwf 21.0 trillion (approx. US$15.4 billion).[14]
  • Economic Scale: The total value of money circulated on the MTN platform in 2024 (Rwf 21.0 trillion) exceeded Rwanda's nominal GDP for the same year (Rwf 18.8 trillion), highlighting the system's role as the primary engine of monetary velocity in the economy.[15]

Location

The headquarters of MTN Rwandacell Plc are located at MTN Centre, Nyarutarama, Kigali, Rwanda. This location is in one of the upscale suburbs of the city of Kigali, the national capital.[16] The geographical coordinates of the headquarters of MTN Rwanda are 1°56'27.0"S 30°06'13.0"E (Latitude:-1.940833; Longitude:30.103611).[17]

See also

External links

References

  1. MTN Rwandacell Plc. MTN Rwandacell Plc Quarter Three Results MTN Rwandacell Plc, 21 October 2021, retrieved 28 February 2021^
  2. MTN Rwanda. History of MTN Rwanda MTN Rwandacell Plc, 2018, retrieved 28 February 2020^
  3. Othman Semakula. MTN appoints new group chief after Nigeria fiasco Daily Monitor, 21 June 2016, retrieved 28 February 2022^
  4. Nqobile Dludla and Mark Potter. MTN Rwanda to list on May 4 in $365 mln flotation Reuters.com, 19 April 2019, retrieved 28 February 2022^
  5. Emmanuel Paul. Valued at over $364 million, MTN's Rwandan unit lists on the Rwandan exchange Techpoint Africa, 5 May 2021, retrieved 28 February 2022^
  6. Donah Mbabazi. What Crystal Telecom's closure means for shareholders 2021-01-12, retrieved 2025-03-14^
  7. MTN Rwanda. Certified Annual Financial Statements As of 31 December 2022 MTN Rwanda, 12 April 2023, retrieved 4 December 2022^
  8. Audace Mahoro. Why 2023 has been a significant year for MTN Rwanda The EastAfrican, 30 December 2023, retrieved 4 January 2024^
  9. MTN Rwanda. Faustin K. Mbundu Independent, Non-Executive Director Chairperson of the Board MTN Rwandacell Plc, 4 January 2022, retrieved 28 February 2022^
  10. MTN Group. MTN Group announces key appointments at three operating companies and at Group MTN Group, 30 June 2022, retrieved 4 January 2024^
  11. MTN MobileMoney in Rwanda: a new mobile money success story GSMA, 2012-01-24^
  12. MTN Rwanda sets up FinTech subsidiary Igihe (English), 30 April 2021, retrieved 24 December 2025^
  13. MTN Rwanda Q3 2025 Results: Strong Performance Driven by Fintech and Data Growth MTN Rwanda Investor Relations, 2025-11-03, retrieved 2025-12-24^
  14. MTN Rwanda FY 2024 Results MTN Rwanda Investor Relations, 2025-03-13^
  15. GDP National Accounts 2024 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, 2025-03-15^
  16. MTN Rwanda. Physical Address of MTN Rwandacell Plc MTN Rwandacell Plc, 28 February 2022, retrieved 28 February 2022^
  17. {{google maps| url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/1%C2%B056'27.0%22S+30%C2%B006'13.0%22E/@-1.9408118,30.0948777,1788m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xc83e73185460e5fc!8m2!3d-1.9408333!4d30.1036111 | title=Location of the Headquarters of MTN Rwanda |access-date=28 February 2022}}^