MTN Channels N2.7trn Into Nigerian Suppliers as Local Procurement Hits 62%

MTN Nigeria says it spent more than ₦2.7 trillion with Nigerian suppliers in 2025, as the telecommunications company increased the share of its procurement sourced locally to 62 per cent and called for a deeper shift from local contracting to indigenous technology and enterprise development.

The figures were disclosed by MTN Nigeria’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, Modupe Kadri, at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce’s August breakfast forum in Lagos, where the company marked 25 years of operations in Nigeria. The meeting focused on how large-scale corporate investment can translate into stronger local businesses, skills and ownership.

According to MTN, the proportion of procurement spending going to Nigerian suppliers rose from 59.6 per cent in 2024 to 62 per cent in 2025. The company says the increase reflects a broader effort to develop domestic capacity across its supply chain rather than simply increase the number of contracts awarded to Nigerian firms.

Kadri argued that the value of local content should ultimately be judged by what remains in the economy after a contract has been completed. In his view, procurement becomes meaningful local content when it helps suppliers improve their standards, develop technical skills, invest in systems and technology, employ more people and eventually compete for business beyond their relationship with MTN.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as Nigeria tries to reduce its dependence on imported technology and foreign expertise. Kadri said many technology requirements that were handled by overseas suppliers when MTN began operations in 2001 are now being delivered by Nigerian companies.

He pointed to businesses including advertising agency SO&U, Seams & Stitches, BlackHouse Media and Computer Warehouse Group as examples of Nigerian enterprises that have developed through long-term commercial opportunities and subsequently expanded their capabilities and markets. He stressed, however, that their growth should not be attributed solely to MTN, noting the role of the companies' own entrepreneurship and investment.

MTN's local procurement push comes alongside significant investment in the country's digital infrastructure. The company says it spent more than ₦1 trillion on digital infrastructure in 2025, while its capital expenditure reached about ₦620.5 billion in the first half of 2026. Its network now includes more than 43,000 kilometres of fibre, while the company reported 92.2 million subscriber connections and 55.7 million active data users as of June 2026.

The company's economic footprint also extends into government revenue. MTN said it has paid more than ₦7 trillion in taxes and statutory payments since commencing operations in Nigeria in 2001. Its 2025 sustainability reporting separately recorded ₦878.7 billion in taxes, levies and duties during the year.

But MTN's own assessment suggests that the 62 per cent figure is not the end of the local-content story. The remaining 38 per cent represents areas where Nigerian production or technical capacity has yet to reach the scale, quality or specialisation required. Those gaps include parts of the telecommunications technology ecosystem where imported equipment, software and specialist expertise remain important.

Kadri identified artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres, fibre and 5G, fintech, cybersecurity, digital content and intellectual property as areas where Nigerian businesses could capture a larger share of future value. The challenge, he said, is for the country to move beyond being a major market for technology and become a producer and exporter of technology and digital services across Africa.

That transition will not happen through procurement policy alone. Nigerian suppliers will need access to capital, skilled workers, reliable infrastructure and large markets, while major corporations will need to provide credible opportunities without lowering standards. Kadri also cautioned that local content should not become a justification for inferior quality or permanent protection from competition.

There is also an important distinction in the figures being reported. MTN's own sustainability materials report 62 per cent of total procurement spend, equivalent to about ₦2.2 trillion, going to local suppliers, while the recent presentation by Kadri was reported as putting spending with Nigerian suppliers at more than ₦2.7 trillion. The figures appear to reflect different procurement measures or reporting bases, so the ₦2.7 trillion figure is best understood as the amount disclosed by the CFO rather than treated as directly interchangeable with the company's sustainability-report figure.

For Nigeria, the bigger issue is what happens to the money once it enters the local economy. A rising local procurement percentage can retain more economic value domestically, but its long-term impact will be much greater if Nigerian suppliers use that demand to build products, intellectual property, technical expertise and businesses capable of serving customers outside the country.

MTN's 25-year presence therefore offers a useful test of what local content can become when it moves beyond a percentage on a procurement report. The next stage of Nigeria's digital economy will be measured less by how much the country buys locally and more by whether its businesses can build the technology, expertise and intellectual property that Africa, and eventually global markets, are willing to buy.