By a Correspondent
Zimbabwean-born MTN Group chief executive Ralph Mupita has called for a more open and economically integrated Africa, -not isolation- saying the telecommunications giant generates 82% of its revenue outside its home market of South Africa.
Mupita (pictured) said Africa’s long-term prosperity would depend less on how countries respond to migration and more on their ability to expand economic opportunities, strengthen regional integration and ensure that more people participate meaningfully in economic growth.
His comments come amid growing debate over migration and xenophobia in South Africa, where tensions involving foreign nationals have periodically strained relations between African countries.
Speaking to business and government leaders, Mupita argued that Africa needed to focus on creating opportunities rather than division, highlighting the importance of cross-border business and investment to the continent’s economic future.
The MTN chief executive, who hails from Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, said the group’s business model demonstrated the value of an integrated African market, with the majority of its revenue generated beyond South Africa.
His remarks carry particular significance for countries such as Zimbabwe, which have deep economic and social links with South Africa and rely heavily on regional trade, investment and the movement of people.
Mupita’s position is for African companies operating across national borders to play an important role in deepening economic cooperation and supporting the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The MTN group has a broad footprint across African markets, making it one of the continent’s major examples of a business whose growth is closely tied to regional integration.
Mupita has previously warned that Afrophobia and hostility towards migrants could undermine continental unity and economic opportunities, particularly for Africa’s young population. He has argued that businesses with operations across borders have a strategic role to play in promoting greater economic cooperation.
For Zimbabwe, the debate is particularly relevant given the country’s large diaspora population in South Africa and the importance of remittances, cross-border trade and investment flows between the two countries.
Mupita’s comments suggest that businesses operating across Africa see the continent’s economic integration as essential to unlocking growth, rather than treating national borders as barriers to investment and commerce.
The MTN CEO’s call for an “open Africa” also comes as policymakers across the continent seek to accelerate implementation of the AfCFTA, which aims to create a single market for goods and services and boost intra-African trade.
Mupita said Africa’s future prosperity would ultimately be determined by its ability to create wider economic opportunities and allow more people to benefit from growth.
For businesses such as MTN, the argument is also commercially significant: the company’s revenue profile illustrates how African firms can increasingly depend on regional markets rather than a single domestic economy.
Mupita’s pleas for an open Africa come amid intensifying calls for retaliatory action against South African-owned businesses in Nigeria and Ghana following renewed xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa.
In Nigeria, lawmakers and activists have called for sanctions against South African companies, including MTN, while protesters have targeted the company’s operations. In July, Nigerian university students reportedly protested at MTN Nigeria’s headquarters in Abuja, citing recurring attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. Earlier, Nigerian Senator Adams Oshiomhole called for the revocation of licences held by South African companies operating in Nigeria, including MTN and MultiChoice.
In Ghana, protests and boycott calls have also targeted South African businesses amid anger over xenophobic attacks. MTN Ghana has sought to distance its operations from the violence, insisting that it remains committed to the Ghanaian market.
The retaliatory pressure has raised concerns about the potential economic consequences of targeting companies that employ thousands of Africans across the continent, while highlighting the growing frustration in African countries over recurring xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
