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MTN Nigeria says it has contributed more than N7 trillion in taxes to the Nigerian economy over roughly 25 years, while significantly increasing its reliance on local suppliers as it seeks to deepen domestic participation across its operations.
The telecommunications giant disclosed the figures at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NACC) August 2026 Breakfast Forum in Lagos, held under the theme, “Building Local Content Together: 25 Years of Shared Growth.”
MTN Nigeria Chief Financial Officer, Modupe Kadiri, said the company’s contribution to the economy extends beyond taxation to include infrastructure investment, employment, enterprise development and increased Nigerian participation in its supply chain.
Local Procurement Rises Sharply
Kadiri disclosed that MTN spent more than N2.7 trillion on procurement in 2025, with Nigerian suppliers accounting for 62% of the company’s procurement expenditure.
The figure represents a substantial increase from 9.6% in 2024, highlighting the company’s growing dependence on locally based businesses.
Kadiri said the remaining 38% of procurement spending represents an opportunity to develop additional domestic capabilities, particularly in technology-intensive areas.
He explained that many of MTN’s technology requirements, which were previously handled predominantly by international contractors during the company’s early years, are increasingly being supplied by Nigerian businesses.
The company’s local procurement activities cover areas including construction, logistics, software services, power infrastructure and other operational requirements.
Beyond Spending to Building Capacity
MTN’s CFO argued that local-content development should not be measured simply by the amount of money spent with Nigerian companies.
Rather, he said the more important question is whether such expenditure leaves behind stronger businesses, skills, technology and employment opportunities.
According to Kadiri, MTN’s demand for locally supplied products and services has encouraged Nigerian companies to improve their quality standards, strengthen corporate governance, expand their workforce and invest in specialised equipment and skills.
He said the ultimate measure of local procurement should be the productive capacity that remains within the Nigerian economy after the investment has been made.
Telecoms Still Depend on Imported Technology
Despite the progress, MTN acknowledged that some areas remain difficult to localise because of the highly specialised nature of telecommunications infrastructure.
Telecommunications equipment, devices, software and other advanced technologies continue to require greater domestic manufacturing and technical capabilities.
Kadiri said this should not necessarily be viewed as a weakness in Nigeria’s local-content policy but as an opportunity to move into a more advanced phase of domestic production.
He identified artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres, fibre networks, 5G, cybersecurity, software and digital content as areas where Nigeria could build greater local capacity.
$3bn Digital Infrastructure Investment
MTN also disclosed that it has invested more than $3 billion in digital infrastructure in Nigeria, underscoring the scale of its long-term commitment to the country’s telecommunications ecosystem.
The company’s infrastructure investment comes alongside its wider contribution to public finances.
MTN’s 2025 Sustainability Report separately showed that the company paid N878.7 billion in taxes, levies and duties to federal and state authorities during the 2025 financial year, up from N764 billion in 2024.
The payments covered company income tax, VAT, spectrum fees, import duties, NCC levies and contributions under approved infrastructure tax-credit arrangements.
Tax Contributions Extend to Infrastructure
Beyond conventional tax payments, MTN has used government-approved tax-credit schemes to participate in infrastructure development.
The company committed N202.8 billion towards the reconstruction of the 110-kilometre Enugu-Onitsha Expressway under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme.
Its Rural and Urban Terrestrial Infrastructure initiative also reached 50% completion in 2025, after MTN received approval for an additional N23 billion tax credit to support fibre and telecommunications infrastructure in underserved areas.
The company has argued that such arrangements allow private-sector capital to contribute to infrastructure development while supporting the government’s broader connectivity objectives.
Local Businesses Benefit From MTN’s Expansion
Participants at the NACC forum highlighted the wider impact of MTN’s operations on Nigerian businesses.
Founder of BlackHouse Media, Adekunle Ayeni, said exposure to South African companies operating successfully in Nigeria helped demonstrate that African businesses could build organisations capable of competing beyond their domestic markets.
Similarly, Yemi Chukwurah, CEO of Seams and Stitches, said Nigerian vendors supplying MTN had expanded their operations as the telecom company demanded higher standards, larger production volumes and stronger financial accountability.
In the technology sector, CWG Group COO Afolabi Sobande said working on MTN’s critical infrastructure, data centres and core systems helped indigenous technology companies develop capabilities that later supported expansion into markets including Uganda, Ghana and Cameroon.
Next Phase Targets High-Value Technology
For MTN, the next stage of local-content development is therefore expected to move beyond traditional telecom support services.
The company is looking towards greater Nigerian participation in advanced areas of the digital economy, including AI, cloud services, data centres, fibre, cybersecurity and software development.
The push comes as Nigeria seeks to increase domestic participation in its rapidly expanding digital economy.
MTN’s position is that the success of local content should ultimately be measured not only by how much of its procurement budget stays within Nigeria, but by whether that spending creates globally competitive Nigerian companies, skilled workers, intellectual property and sustainable industrial capacity.
After 25 years of operations, the telecom giant’s latest figures suggest that its next local-content challenge will be moving Nigerian participation further up the technology value chain.
