MTN Nigeria Achieves 62% Local Procurement, Spends N2.7 Trillion on Nigerian Suppliers

MTN Nigeria has highlighted its commitment to local content development, announcing that 99.9% of its workforce is Nigerian and that it achieved over 62% local procurement in 2025, spending N2.7 trillion on Nigerian suppliers.

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In 2001, Nigeria opened a market, investment followed and Nigerian capability turned that investment into an ecosystem.

The telecommunications giant also noted a drastic reduction in expatriate staff, from over 300 foreign experts in 2021 to just four currently. This focus on local capacity building is part of MTN's strategy to not only grow within Nigeria but also to foster Nigerian enterprises that can compete on a global scale.

During a Nigerian-South Africa Chamber of Commerce forum, MTN Nigeria's Chief Financial Officer, Modupe Kadri, presented the company's "Building Local Content Together: 25 Years of Shared Growth" initiative. He emphasized that procurement is viewed as a pathway to enhancing Nigerian standards, skills, and capacity. The goal, Kadri explained, is to cultivate Nigerian businesses that can thrive internationally, rather than creating vendors solely reliant on MTN.

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The story of 25 years was not only how MTN grew in Nigeria. It is how Nigerian enterprise, capability and ownership grew alongside it.

Kadri further elaborated that local content extends beyond mere purchasing; it involves building capabilities within the Nigerian economy. This includes fostering high standards and governance, enhancing skills development, and promoting market competition. Companies like SO&U (MTN's brand manager), Seams& Stitches, Black House Media, and Computer Warehouse Group were cited as examples of Nigerian enterprises that have grown into international competitors through their partnership with MTN.

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local content does not simply mean “where we buy but what we build,” adding that “local procurement tells us where money was spent and what that expenditure helped to build.”

These developments coincide with emerging reports that MTN Group is seeking Nigerian investors to acquire up to a 30% stake in IHS Nigeria, a move that would facilitate the group's acquisition of IHS Holding Limited. This potential investment underscores MTN's long-term commitment to the Nigerian market and its role in developing the local technological and business ecosystem.

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He said the real measure of local content was the capability that remains in the economy after the contract has been delivered, noting that the goal was not to create vendors that need MTN but to build Nigerian businesses that could compete anywhere in the world.