MTN Eswatini Chief Executive Officer Wandile Mtshali says financial commentators never gave them a chance to succeed in the country.
The CEO said forecasts indicated that the company would only be able to amass only 15,000 customers at most.
Mtshali disclosed this during MTN’s Silver Jubilee celebration held at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, which was attended by the Minister of Information Communication & Technology, Savannah Maziya, the Ministry’s Principal Secretary, Phesheya Dube, MTN Group President Southern & East Africa Region, Yolanda Cuba, Eswatini Post & Telecommunications Corporation MD Themba Khumalo who is also a former CEO of MTN Eswatini, among a number of other distinguished guests.
He said when they received their license in 1998, they only had 53 employees, yet today they boast of over 400 employees who are employed directly and indirectly by the company.
The CEO further observed that as it stands today they have connected over a million customers which is way over the 15,000 mark that was envisaged by commentators in the space.
He also averred that they are extremely proud of their network connectivity, which is something they have been working on for a number of years.
“We have come a long way and one of the things we are proud of is the quality of our connectivity. In 1998, we were using 2G connectivity, we then transitioned to 3G network connectivity in 2013 which supported improved data services, voice, SMS & digital services. In 2016, we rolled out 4G technology. We are now at the pilot stage of the 5G network connectivity which we launched last year as a proof of concept.”
Mtshali said another key milestone was the launch of Mobile Money services in the country which has been a major success. It is worth mentioning that the company’s True Value Report which was launched this year disclosed that a total of E498 million was saved by EmaSwati through mobile money services.
The CEO disclosed that the company was also ranked number 1 on the Rohde and Schwarz Network Performance Score in two categories.
- Best Network Performance score for voice services: 348 out of 400 score.
- Best Network Performance Score for Data Services: 297 out of 600 score.
Moreover, the CEO noted that Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) also recognized them as the highest tax contributor under the Large Communication and Information Sector.