We want to beat Vodacom: MTN SA CEO

New MTN South Africa CEO Mteto Nyati said the company will aspire to be “number one”, dethroning Vodacom as the top mobile provider in the country.

Speaking to Toby Shapshak on CNBC’s Tech Busters, Nyati said MTN South Africa currently seems to be “comfortable being number two”. This is set to change.

“Maybe we should actually change things. We should aspire to be number one, and behave like a company that is hungry and wants to be number one,” said Nyati.

It will not be easy to overtake Vodacom, which currently dominates on subscriber numbers, revenues, and network coverage in SA.

Apart from Vodacom’s strong position, MTN is facing many challenges. It has just come out of a prolonged strike, and its latest results revealed a drop in revenue.

Nyati said MTN has a “people problem”, which inhibits the company’s ability to serve its customers. Fixing this is one of his top priorities.

Another focus area will be to grow MTN SA’s traditional business, which is providing telecoms services, he said.

He also hinted at partnerships with over-the-top players like Facebook and WhatsApp. “To be successful, one has to embrace partnerships,” he said.

“We need to look at what our customers want, and how we can work with OTT players to deliver what our customers are looking for.”

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