Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

4G/5G

MTN Ignites Digital Transformation With Executive Appointments

Article Image

Following last year's announcement of Ignite, the operator's transformation program, MTN Group Ltd. has created a dedicated transformation team populated by a number of group-wide and regional executive appointments.

Telco veteran and long-standing MTN executive Saim Yaksan has been confirmed as the chief group transformation Officer for MTN, which offers services in 35 markets across Africa and the Middle East and which, at the end of September 2016, had 234.7 million customers in total. Yaksan, who will operate out of Dubai, UAE, has a long history working in procurement and supply chain management for MTN and, previously, Vodafone and so looks well placed to thoroughly review the entire group for possible efficiency gains.

New Year, New Job
MTN's Saim Yaksan, but you can call him chief group transformation officer.
MTN's Saim Yaksan, but you can call him chief group transformation officer.

MTN says the group's transformation program will lead to the introduction of special measures to accelerate the company's business and financial performance. Any measures put in place are intended to make the organization more agile, sustainable, efficient, innovative and profitable -- all five bases, then.

Yaksan's role as head of the Ignite program will be to "lead development and execution of special initiatives aimed at accelerating business and financial performance."

According to an MTN announcement, he has a Business Management degree and Diplom-Kaufmann from the University of Cologne in Germany, with specialization in Marketing and Market Research, Trade and Distribution.

Yaksan isn't the only hire in aid of Ignite development; two additional executives have been brought in to complement the transformation process across the continent. Debbie Minnaar and Olubayo Adekanmbi have been appointed to lead the transformation offices in South Africa and Nigeria respectively.

The new executives join only weeks before MTN's new CEO, Rob Shuter, takes over the running of the company -- he is set to start at CEO on March 13.

For more on MTN, see:

— Tim Skinner, Editor, Connecting Africa

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Tech Herfrica

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Nigeria's Tech Herfrica, a social impact organization that focuses on the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in rural areas of Nigeria.

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002