MTN at 30 | 13 Months in…

Big Tech to Telco in pursuit of building a “tech telecom giant” 🤔 , my time at MTN 🇬🇭 thus far. #ManagementMinistry

300 million touchpoints

What would you do if you had front-row seats to the user experience of ~300 million on the African continent?

Leading myMTN App NextGen team to launch our localized version of our flagship myMTN App circa November 2023, MTN House, Independence Avenue, Accra Ghana

After 30 years of “more than just talk” and “everywhere you go” connectivity with MTN; my team and I have spent the last 13+ months together interrogating and poking at this opportunity.

With a myriad of challenges and small wins; there has been an even more intention to bring digital practices into our analogue world:

Personal relationships:

I joined MTN with a wide African network framework primarily focused in three buckets: Africa-innovation-focus, diaspora-connectivity, and with people tech-first approach. My people tech-first approach was first identified when I was at Wits Business School, enforced over the last 5 years as a faculty member with Stellenbosch Business School, and has now metamorphosized into a movement I have affectionately named: We Dey Manage Academy

First day, my day 1 as an employee at MTN with Group CCO & former Ghana CEO Selorm Adadevoh, Feb 2023

Knowing that MTN, first birthed out of Johnnic was a South African telco with 19 operating countries not only appealed to my excitement and time studying at Wits and teaching at Stellenbosch; but also emphasized my eternal hope that Africa-founded-Africa-funded innovation for us by us is possible.

MTN Ghana 🇬🇭 awarded WECA Regional Excellence OpCo for 2023, with colleagues from Digital, Marketing, Customer & Care Excellence, and Sales & Distribution in Capetown, South Africa

MoMo and ubiquitous use in my home country Ghana, as an example of financial service, was just an example of the potential for homegrown African fintech innovation and economic empowerment opportunities when we get our “product-to-market-fit-right.” When people think of toothpaste, they think of the brand Pepsodent, similarly, when they think of detergent, they mention Omo; as a case in point when everyday people think of sending money in an easy fast, and convenient way, they think of MTN’s Momo.

MTN Platforms Accelerator myMTN, MoMo, Ayoba, Chenosis apps, December 2023

Africa-innovation-focus: What would the next Africa-innovation-focus innovation be? An improved apps-powered, contextualized experience for onboarding SMEs and local entrepreneurs into the shared digital economy?

Joining the Digital team, as a senior manager for our digital channels — apps — PWA and internal digital ecosystem — permits me a front-row seat on the enablers, blockers, and sheer will-power of cultural change to fundamentally move the needle for adoption (digital or otherwise) our continent. It is a tall order, few can articulate if their hands are not on the plow and they are not embedded in the day-to-day go-to-market tactics even with the most well-intentioned strategy, Kwerh!

Starting in 2024 gifting my manager and CDO Dario Bianchi one of his first Khaftans with my team growth manager & 2ic, David Daitey Narh, and coordinator Gloria Senam Afanyibo #DreamTeam #Digital #SparkJoy

Diaspra-connectivity: one of the benefits of being a Googler or Facebooker (Meta) is the global alumni of similar-minded folks who tackled some of the same global challenges at scale and willingness to see our part of the world win. My bet is that similar to pan-African banks & tech start-ups, FMCGs, and some insurance companies, MTN has the best cohort of brilliant Africans working in and on local problems in the world; especially the senior management to general management pool of talent.

Illustration by YebSketch x @itp85 reimagining what today’s workplace requires to meet high-performance

Peopletech-first approach: The digitalization narrative emphasizes products first; a cost-saving narrative and then a people-enabling, profit-generating modus operandi. Peopletech — where the tech or technology adoption first empowers workers is not as sexy a draw; as novel and engaging tech that excites the imagination and propels otherwise mundane (but iteratively improved work practice) with its newness. My father was an emigre in Germany, and what he passed on from his time with German mechanics was not to despise the awesome of consistent (sometimes small) iterative improvements of processes, products, and functions. Looking back, with the many constraints of working in a telecom in an African country with arresting inflation, 90% of my creative innovation agency at work is constrained to small consistent iterative actions to meet high performance targets. The key enabler for now, is still the people in Peopletech.

Devs, UI UX designers, project managers scrum masters & avengers responsible for myMTN app, circa February 2024

Hiring Building a collaboration-first team: One of my most impactful take-aways from my time at MTN was an empathetic daily check-in cadence during our stand-ups that I call: red gold green. By modifying our check-ins to include prioritize updates by color coding: red for highest priority, green for least priority-but need to know we can have a low effort, high-touch, support/unblocking check-in on WhatsApp almost daily. Grateful my team members adopted and championed check-ins with colleagues “streaking” and getting commended for being consistent.

Spark Joy:

Top of the column at my desk, amidst team culture, mid-future operationalized goals & Ambition 2025 personalized targets… is a deliberate scribble for “fun: onboarding scavenger hunts to pass joy to new hires; and chorale after-week practice” to maintain a beginner’s mindset in learning a new hobby: singing.

Fun, Culture, Future & Ambition 2025, top on my desk at MTN Ghana HQ, Independence Avenue, Accra Ghana

I shared earlier what my team and I have been up to at a Future of Work conference; and on LinkedIn and on reflection, I can only recount these past months with gratitude, and reverence for the titans who braved the constraints in actioning the dreams that have led to our success this far; and to draw my small circle of support even closer as I am now part of the status quo that implements habits for 300 million of our customers across our mobile devices on my favorite continent, Africa. The legacy of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress is ongoing, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.

Future of Work Conference, Univerity of Ghana Legon

Be well, be safe, and be loved.

p.s. If you breathe product dev, conduct team management with respectful finesse, and enjoy working with a high-paced, high-impact team join my team at MTN here. #EveryWhereYouGo #WhatAreYouDoingToday

We are hiring & serendipitously matching here

p.s. At 30 years old, MTN is still one of the most fascinating for Africa by Africa businesses out there. For those who want to, I know you do… you may nerd out on our latest suite of reports: here https://bit.ly/3UOLUo1 and here https://bit.ly/4aUis5z #30yearsofMTN #DoingGoodTogether

Originally published to Unpacking Africa newsletter’s 15,000 + subscribers on May 10th, 2024.