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MTN Uganda alongside senior broker representatives from SBG Securities and Crested capital have today kickstarted a nationwide MTN IPO awareness tour aimed at creating awareness and providing vital information about the MTN offer of shares and the stock market to communities across Uganda. This is in a bid to equip the public with necessary information to enable them to participate in the on-going MTN IPO.

The MTN IPO nationwide awareness tour is part of MTN’s broader “Uganda is Home” campaign through which MTN is seeking to further deepen its roots across the country by offering Ugandans ownership in one of the country’s largest companies.

In attendance was the Jinja Municipality RDC, Elijah Madoyi who commended MTN for extending the IPO sensitization to the people of Jinja.

The initiative to take the IPO closer to the people follows MTN’s announcement of the intention to list 20% (4.5 billion shares) of its ordinary shares and the subsequent opening of the offer on Monday 11 October 2021, after approvals by the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda. The offer will close on Monday 22 November 2021.

MTN is offering shares at UGX 200 per share with a minimum order quantity of 500 shares which means Ugandans can become shareholders in MTN Uganda with an investment of as low as UGX 100,000. This affordable offer of shares by MTN coupled with the incentives is aimed at democratizing the capital market and making it as easy as possible to apply for shares through MTN MoMo.

While conducting the first townhall at the Source of the Nile Hotel today, Wim Vanhelleputte the MTN CEO said that the on-going MTN IPO is aimed at giving all Ugandans an opportunity to become part owners of the country’s leading telecommunications and mobile money operator and, in doing so, help democratize and bolster Uganda’s capital market.

“The MTN IPO is a people’s IPO. It is mostly targeting Ugandan individual investors, giving every Ugandan a chance to own a stake in MTN Uganda for as low as UGX100,000. MTN has also made the process of application (for shares) easy and affordable through MTN MoMo,” Vanhelleputte said. Applications for shares using MTN MoMo is free of any extra charges.

Vanhelleputte also noted that to further drive more participation by Ugandans, the IPO has special incentives for Ugandans who apply: “All Ugandan individuals applying for MTN Shares through MTN MoMo (via USSD or MyMTN app) will receive an incentive of 10 bonus shares for every 100 shares applied for. Individuals applying for shares using other methods like Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) portal or paper applications will also get an incentive of 5 bonus shares for every 100 shares they apply. In case of over subscription of MTN IPO, Ugandan individuals will be considered first.”

MTN and the brokers will hold over 300 meetings across all the districts countrywide to sensitize the public about the opportunity to own shares in the company.

Following similar engagements held in Kampala over the last two weeks, the regional town halls kicked off today with public engagements in Jinja, Mityana, Lyantonde, Apac, Lugazi and Mukono. Tomorrow, the teams will conduct similar sessions in Mbarara, Lira, Mubende, Gayaza and Kayunga before proceeding to even more towns across the country. The MTN IPO awareness tour will cover the districts of Jinja, Kamuli, Iganga, Busia, Tororo, Mbale, Kapchorwa, Moroto, Soroti, Kumi and Pallisa, Apac, Lira, Gulu, Kitgum, Adjumani, Moyo, Arua, Nebbi, Koboko, Wakiso, Mukono, Kayunga, Bombo, Luwero, Mpigi, Sembabule, Kalisizo, Masaka, Kalangala, Entebbe, Mityana, Mubende, Fortportal, Kasese, Kyenjojo, Hoima, Kiboga, Masindi, Kigumba, Bweyale, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ishaka, Kiruhura, Ibanda, Kabale, Kisoro and Ntungamo among others

MTN Uganda in partnership with SIMFY, the developers of ayoba, has today launched a dynamic campaign dubbed ‘Life inside ayoba’ that will see ayoba users sending MTN MoMo free to fellow ayoba users for a limited period.

Introduced to the Ugandan market last year, ayoba, the African superApp, is the first ever instant messaging app that allows its users the liberty of sending cash digitally in-app while chatting, allowing them to seamlessly transact without having to drop their conversations.

The ‘Life inside ayoba’ campaign will enable all the ayoba users to send MTN Mobile Money for free in-app for a limited period while bringing together all the unique and exciting features of the ‘SuperApp’ including chat, voice and video calling, content sharing, music and playlists, gaming among others.

While launching the ‘Life inside ayoba’ campaign, Olivier Prentout, the Head of Customer Marketing for ayoba said that the App would appeal to many consumers as it provides digital solutions to the day-to-day life needs of the consumer in a practical yet affordable way.

“In building the ‘Life inside ayoba’ campaign we looked at what unites our African users.  With Ayoba, users can find everything they need in our all-in-one app.  This approach has brought us a textured and innovative campaign, and we are very proud of it. We are excited to launch the campaign with the full support of MTN” Prentout said, noting that app has been lauded for its unique and exciting practicality that it offers its users all they need in a single app that is available on both Android and iOS devices.

According to Prentout, 2021 has particularly been a fast-paced year for ayoba as the messaging app recently celebrated its second year of operation in May 2021. As of July 2021, ayoba had recorded 8 million monthly active users across the MTN Group with 400,000 active ayoba users in Uganda. Ayoba recently received the award for Best OTT Brand of the Year at the Marketing World Awards 2021.  This adds to the 2020 win for ayoba at the Africa Digital Award for Best Mobile Application in November 2020.

Susan Kayemba, the MTN Uganda Digital Services Senior Manager said that as an instant messaging App, ayoba underscores the goal of bringing more people into the digital world by providing them with affordable and simplified, yet inclusive and functional digital communication services.

“The ayoba app is perfect for the Ugandan market. It is vibrant and relevant and will appeal to everyone especially the youth.  Most importantly, ayoba is an all-in-one app that gives you chat and call options, music, games, news, sports and much more information at no data cost in addition to sending MTN MoMo free of charge using ayoba. We urge our customers to seize the Life inside ayoba campaign and relish the transformational all-in-one App that is ayoba” Kayemba said.

According to Kayemba, although ayoba can be used by anybody across all the networks, MTN customers are automatically allocated free data to use ayoba features.  Free data allocations can be used for all activities available in the app – including messaging, browsing, gaming, and listening to music, and customers can also download the app data free at www.ayoba.me. However, voice and video calls are excluded from the free data provisions.

As the ayoba platform continues to grow it supports 22 languages spoken across our markets while allowing users to safely send and receive encrypted messages, make voice, and video calls, share photos, videos and digital files. Users can access both entertaining and educative content available through 150 curated channels aimed at entertaining, educating, and empowering communities, as well as access to 200 games and stream free music from a wide selection of playlists.

Ayoba users now have access to a range of Micro-Apps ranging from Telehealth, live streaming services, and high-quality short videos, all available within the app. Micro-Apps such as FakeNews Checker allow subscribers to verify information and news while Survey54 allows people to get involved in surveys while earning some revenue. Other Micro Apps we are excited about include Live Scores for live football updates, live and on demand sports streaming and so much more.

To send Mobile Money for free using the ayoba app; go to chats and select the person you want to chat with. Select the attachment icon and then select the money icon. Go ahead and select Send MoMo and follow prompts. Enter the amount and reason. You Will be prompted to enter MoMo pin. The transaction will be completed, and you will receive an SMS notification.

Ayoba comes with an in-app assistant called ‘Aya’ to guide new users on how to use an instant messaging app. Aya appears automatically in everyone’s chats and can run a variety of interactive tutorials for key features within ayoba.

MTN Uganda Limited is pleased to announce the opening of its initial public offer (IPO) of 20% of its ordinary shares, following approvals by the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda (CMA) and the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).

The secondary sale of 4.4 billion shares by the MTN Group will be at an offer price of UGX200 per share. The offer opens today, Monday 11 October 2021, and will close on Monday 22 November 2021. MTN Group currently holds 96% of MTN Uganda.

“With the opening of the IPO we are one step closer to our goal of broad ownership of our business across the Ugandan population,” said MTN Uganda Chief Executive Officer Wim Vanhelleputte. “Our m-IPO initiative is the country’s first paper-free IPO platform aimed at retail investors, in partnership with the USE, and will help position Uganda at the forefront of digitising the capital markets for Africa,” he added.

Yolanda Cuba, MTN Group Vice President for Southern and East Africa, said the IPO would give Ugandans an opportunity to participate in the ownership of their country’s leading mobile operator and, in doing so, help deepen Uganda’s capital markets.

“Today’s IPO is very clearly aligned with our Ambition 2025 strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress,” she said.

The offer aims to facilitate the broadest possible shareholder base in Uganda, with Ugandan Retail Investors making Applications for Offer Shares of an aggregate minimum value of UGX 5 million to be allocated the full number of Offer Shares for that minimum value applied for. A unique digital channel will be available to retail investors for IPO subscription: the m-IPO portal, accessible via USSD and via the MyMTN App. Traditional payment channels will also be available across Uganda at Stanbic Bank, Absa Bank and Standard Chartered Bank branches and authorized selling agents.

The IPO includes a broad share incentive scheme and Ugandan retail investors in particular using the m-IPO channel are eligible to receive 10 additional incentive shares for every 100 shares applied for and allocated in the IPO.

Following the successful completion of the offer, the company will list its entire ordinary share capital on the Main Investment Market Segment of the USE. This will meet the requirements of MTN Uganda’s licence, which require its listing by end-June 2022.

 

 

MTN Uganda started operating in 1998. In the first half of 2021, it had 14.9 million subscribers, 8.6 million Mobile Money users and 4.7 million active data users.

The dates noted in this announcement may be subject to change.

 

About MTN Uganda

MTN Uganda is a leading telecoms company in Uganda with a primary objective of carrying on the business of a national operator of a telecommunications network pursuant to the NTO licence granted by the UCC. Among our offerings are network services, digital and financial technology services, interconnect and roaming, sale of mobile devices and MTN Mobile Money (which is conducted through subsidiary MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited). MTN has a presence in all 134 districts of Uganda. Our services are delivered through a network of 119 077 Mobile Money agents, 200 service stores and 13 main distributors. At end-June 2021, MTN Uganda had

14.9 million subscribers, 8.6 million MoMo users and 4.7 million active data users.

For more information, please contact:

Rhona Arinaitwe

Senior Manager Corporate communication Rhona.Arinaitwe@mtn.com

 

MTN Uganda is pleased to announce our intention to proceed with an initial public offer (IPO) and subsequently list on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).  This follows the requisite approval by the Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange for MTN Group to sell 20% of its shareholding in MTN Uganda to the public. MTN Group owns 96% of MTN Uganda.

The listing is in line with the Group’s strategic priority to create shared value, partly through ensuring broad-based ownership in its operating subsidiaries. It is also in line with the provisions of MTN Uganda’s NTO licence, which require its listing by end-June 2022.

“The intention to float announcement is a major step towards delivering on our plan to list on the USE,” said Charles Mbire, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, MTN Uganda. “It is a reaffirmation of our long-term commitment to expand investment opportunities for Ugandans and we look forward to continuing our engagement with the CMA and USE to take forward the IPO and the listing.”

MTN Group Vice President for Southern and East Africa Yolanda Cuba called the planned listing a milestone: “Over the last 23 years, the people of Uganda have embraced MTN as their own and given us the legitimacy to operate throughout this country. We are reciprocating by inviting Ugandans to share in the ownership of the success that we have built together.”

In 1998, licence in hand, MTN Uganda commenced the rollout of our infrastructure and services. We provided affordable access to the people through a widespread voice and data network, investing UGX3.5 trillion in infrastructure development across the 134 districts of Uganda, both rural and urban. To facilitate universal access, we continue to contribute 2% of our gross annual revenue to the Uganda Communication Commission.

Over the years, MTN Uganda has prioritised the expansion of rural coverage. We currently cover 97% of the country’s population and have over 6,000km of fibre connectivity to provide the voice and data bandwidth that connects more than 15 million subscribers not only within the country but also across the world.

The growth in mobile penetration in Uganda from 0.27% in 1998 to 67% as of March 2021 is proof of MTN’s contribution to democratise mobile telephony. The fruits of this are evident in the widespread adoption of key technology platforms powered by high-speed connectivity, which enable the creation, distribution, and consumption of a wide range of digital services.

MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) has also revolutionised the financial landscape. Formal financial inclusion has nearly doubled from 28% in 2009 when MoMo was introduced in Uganda to 58% as of 2018.

MTN Uganda contributes an annual average of approximately UGX700 billion to the government treasury through taxes paid on our own account and as a withholding agent of government, making us the largest taxpayer in Uganda for the past decade.

We have over 1,000 direct employees and employ another 150,000 indirectly. Through our widespread distribution network, we provide a livelihood to more than 500,000 people, making MTN one of the largest employers in the country.

Ends.

 

About MTN Uganda

MTN Uganda is a leading telecommunications company in Uganda with a primary objective of carrying on the business of a national operator of a telecommunications network pursuant to the NTO licence granted by the Uganda Communications Commission. Among our offerings are network services, digital and financial technology services, interconnect and roaming, sale of mobile devices and MTN Mobile Money (which is conducted through subsidiary MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited). MTN has a presence in all 134 districts of Uganda. Our services are delivered through a network of approximately 145,000 active mobile money agents, 200 service stores and 14 main distributors. At end-June 2021, MTN Uganda had 14.9 million subscribers, 8.6 million MoMo users and 4.7 million active data users.

 

For more information, please contact:

Rhona Arinaitwe                                                                     

Senior Manager Corporate Communications and Public Relations

Rhona.Arinaitwe@mtn.com

MTN Uganda Limited