abut South Africa: MTN’s Ralph Mupita takes his first steps as new CEO

While MTN's new boss Ralph Mupita has sold its stake in Jumia - a project launched by his predecessor, Rob Shuter - he is also beginning to impose his own philosophy on the South African mobile phone giant. “If technology remains reserved for a small segment of society, it contributes to increasing inequalities.” Ralph Mupita spoke at the GSMA Thrive Africa 2020 virtual event, which brought together the best of the best of the African Internet scene at the end of September. He was concerned about the social impact of the group’s activities, which he has been overseeing for the past two months. Discreet since taking up his position in mid-August, the new boss of the operator with 261 million customers and 17 African subsidiaries, is officially presented as the man of continuity. Mupita is, after all, in line with the group’s rationalisation and digitalisation strategy launched four years ago by his predecessor, the Anglo-South African Rob Shuter. READ MORE IHS telecom tower debt levels cloud outlook for MTN asset sales This is evidenced by the fact that when publishing its results for the third quarter of 2020, MTN announced the withdrawal of its 18.9% stake in the Jumia e-commerce platform. The transaction enables it to recover a sum of $140m, far less than it had hoped for in the early hours of the stock’s listing in New York. Recovering stock market value “We are proud to have been a partner in the evolution of one of the pioneering companies of Africa’s online markets and we will continue our relationship with Jumia through our permanent operational partnerships in select markets,” the operator said in a release. Behind the scenes, the civil engineer – who did his undergraduate studies at the prestigious University of Cape Town (UCT) later switched to finance completing an MBA from there as well – is also beginning to impose his philosophy. A Zimbabwean expatriate who arrived in the Rainbow Nation at the age of 18, he defines himself as a Pan-African, sensitive to the development of his continent. October however, was marked by several business meetings far removed from any social consideration. “We have refined a very financially focused strategy, mainly concentrated on improving our share price on the stock market,” says an internal source. In other words, Mupita wishes to succeed where Shuter failed. Still below the level recorded when Shuter arrived in 2017, the operator’s share price is struggling to return to its pre-crisis value. After a timid peak at R69 (€3.57) on the eve of the passing of the torch, the share has fallen and is trading at around R54 in Johannesburg.