Telefónica eyes Africa opportunity through MTN deal


Details

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez

| 15 December 2015




South Africa's MTN Group has signed a partnership agreement with Telefónica which enables both telecoms operators to work together in several sectors.



Both companies have agreed to team up to capture synergies in a number of strategic areas like machine-to-machine (M2M) as well as digital products and services targeting the business-to-business (B2B) segment, as Telefónica does with Media Networks in Latin America.

The groups will also enter discussions on how to effectively engage in international wholesale, device and network/IT procurement, as well as partner in key technology projects through initiatives such as mobile money or big data.

“MTN Group believes this strategic partnership with Telefónica will bring great benefits to MTN in enabling future growth delivery,” said Herman Singh, chief digital officer, MTN. “The development scope includes our innovation process and new product offerings as we move into the new digital world, as well as leveraging our combined scale in areas such as procurement.”

“Telefónica has a strong belief in the advantages of scale and pooling of skills that industry partnerships can bring,” added Mario Martín, industrial alliances director, Telefónica.

The agreement consolidates the bonds between two of the world's largest telecom operators: Telefónica (with a presence in 21 countries in Europe and Latin America) and MTN (working in 22 territories in Africa, Asia and the Middle East).