MTN Backs Public Sector Training to Drive Africa’s Transformation

Demonstrating its commitment to advancing Africa’s development, the MTN Group supported the 2025 Economic Governance School training for public officials from Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya, held in Accra last week. 

The initiative, the result of collaboration between South Africa’s National School of Government
(NSG), the Kenya School of Government (KSG) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public
Administration (GIMPA) is designed to strengthen senior leadership in the public sector and
promote inclusive economic governance across the continent.

It brings together legislatures, politicians and senior officials from all levels of the public service for a week of peer learning, policy dialogue and institutional exchange. Consequently, the delegation took time to visit the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, which is charged with coordinating the creation of a single continental market for goods and services across Africa.

“As a pan-African business, we understand that Africa’s growth depends not only on investment in
infrastructure, but also in people and institutions,” said Nompilo Morafo, MTN Group Chief
Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer.

Since the training took place during MTN Group’s flagship 21 Days of Y’ello Care, the delegation
also visited the MTN Ghana-supported Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OICG), which
provides vocational, digital, and entrepreneurial skills training for young people to enable them to
earn a decent and dignified living.

“At MTN, we believe that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life; therefore, in
our view, education, training and strong institutions form the foundation for sustained progress. Also,

when civil servants, policymakers and administrators are equipped with high-quality training, their
collective decisions shape a more equitable, innovative and resilient future for their nations.”

MTN’s involvement reflects its broader approach to driving Africa’s progress through investment in
leadership and institutional capacity.

In addition to sponsoring the NSG, KSG and GIMPA programme, the Group contributed to the discourse, with senior executives participating in sessions focused on telecommunications, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and infrastructure financing.

MTN Ghana CEO Stephen Blewett and CIO Bernard Acquah joined Morafo in engaging on panels
that explored the intersection of technology and governance. Discussions focused on the digital
transformation of public services and the role of AI and infrastructure investment in supporting state
capacity and economic inclusion.

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South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration Ms. Pinky Kekana, described
the initiative as a valuable platform for engagement on governance challenges, saying: “The
Economic Governance School offers a unique platform for elected and appointed public leaders to
engage in critical analysis and reflective dialogue on the complex challenges confronting
governance.”

Director of GIMPA, Prof. Samuel Kwadwo Bonsu, welcomed MTN’s contribution and the cross-
sector collaboration underpinning the programme: “We are proud as GIMPA to serve, not only as a
centre of learning but as a convening ground for critical reflection and collaboration.”