Special Report | Rising Nation Magazine
KAMPALA, Uganda | In the buzzing alleys of downtown Kampala, a fruit vendor waves her phone instead of counting coins. A taxi driver accepts digital payments through his mobile wallet. A young student in Gulu attends an online coding class using 4G/5G internet. In each story runs a quiet thread-MTN Uganda, the network that has become the pulse of a modernizing nation.
For two decades, MTN has been more than a telecom provider in Uganda. It has evolved into an architect of financial inclusion and a driver of digital transformation, shaping how millions communicate, bank, learn, and trade. Its latest financial report, the unaudited results for the nine months ending September 30, 2025; reads not only as an investor document but as a chapter in Uganda’s digital renaissance.
From Telecom to Transformation
In the first nine months of 2025, MTN Uganda posted service revenue growth of 13.6 percent, reaching Ush 2.6 trillion. The real story, however, lies in the composition of that growth: data revenue surged by 30.2 percent, and fintech earnings rose 17.9 percent.
“These results reflect resilience and disciplined execution,” said Sylvia Mulinge, MTN Uganda’s Chief Executive Officer, in a statement accompanying the report. “We’re connecting lives, expanding inclusion, and supporting Uganda’s digital ambition.”
The company’s operating profit grew 22.3 percent to Ush 1.03 trillion, and while the reported profit after tax rose modestly by 2.6 percent to Ush 471.2 billion due to a one-off tax settlement, the adjusted profit, excluding that charge jumped 26.7 percent, underscoring the underlying strength of the business.
A Growing Digital Lifeline
Across Uganda, MTN’s fintech arm has become the country’s de facto financial bridge, linking people once excluded from the formal banking system to the wider economy. The company’s mobile money platform (MoMo) processes billions of shillings daily, enabling everything from school fee payments to cross-border trade.
In rural districts, mobile agents have become community bankers, allowing farmers to sell crops, receive payments instantly, and access small loans. The result is a new kind of financial mobility, one powered not by brick-and-mortar banks but by handheld devices and a vast digital network.
Data: The New Currency of Growth
As Uganda’s economy becomes more digitized, data consumption has exploded. MTN’s investment in 4G densification and 5G rollout has placed it at the center of this transformation. The company’s infrastructure footprint now stretches across urban and rural regions, connecting over 18 million active subscribers.
Students in rural classrooms can now stream educational content, small businesses advertise through social media, and government services increasingly migrate online, all made possible by improved network capacity and affordability.
“Connectivity is not a luxury anymore,” said a Kampala-based economist. “It’s the foundation of participation in the 21st-century economy and MTN is building that foundation.”
Strength in Numbers
MTN Uganda’s balance sheet expanded to Ush 5.20 trillion, while total equity rose to Ush 1.25 trillion. The company generated Ush 478.5 billion in net operating cash, invested Ush 308.6 billion in new network infrastructure, and recorded free cash flow growth of 32.2 percent to Ush 963.6 billion.
Such robust liquidity allows MTN to sustain heavy capital expenditures while maintaining its dividend commitments. Indeed, the company’s Board increased the medium-term dividend payout ratio from 60 percent to 75 percent of annual profits, a signal of confidence in the long-term trajectory of its business.
A second interim dividend of Ush 10.5 per share, totaling Ush 235.1 billion, is slated for payment in December 2025.
Challenges and Course Corrections
Yet, even for a digital giant, the path forward is not without turbulence. Uganda’s mobile termination rate cuts a regulatory adjustment that reduces what operators earn from inter-network calls, continue to squeeze voice revenue.
At the same time, the fintech ecosystem faces tighter compliance measures, including stricter registration requirements for merchants to curb fraud and ensure consumer protection.
MTN has responded by doubling down on innovation and compliance, a strategy that balances short-term friction with long-term credibility.
A Stake in Uganda’s Future
Beyond profit and policy, MTN’s story is woven into Uganda’s broader vision, a nation aiming for middle-income status and a USD 500 billion economy under its Ten-Fold Growth Strategy. MTN’s investments in connectivity, digital payments, and infrastructure directly support that goal, enabling trade, transparency, and inclusion at every level of society.
The company’s average trading liquidity of US $1.13 million per month (UGX 4.1 billion) on the Uganda Securities Exchange reflects strong investor confidence and its status as one of the market’s most actively traded equities.
As Uganda navigates global economic headwinds, MTN’s presence provides both a technological backbone and a measure of stability, a reminder that private enterprise can be a force for public progress.
A Digital Nation in Motion
From the streets of Kampala to the villages of Karamoja, the story of Uganda’s transformation is increasingly a story of connectivity, inclusion, and innovation. MTN Uganda stands at the intersection of those forces, an enterprise where finance meets technology, and technology fuels growth.
In the quiet hum of data centers and the constant ping of mobile wallets, the architecture of a new economy is being built, one transaction, one connection, one rising nation at a time.
