Post by Axiomera Partners

When Africa's largest operator spends $2.2 billion buying back towers it once sold, the assumptions behind the original strategy deserve a closer look. Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO of MTN Group, explained the rationale at MWC26 in terms that every operator managing infrastructure partnerships should recognise. The asset-light tower model was built on conditions that made it commercially attractive: four-player markets generating co-location demand, muted inflation, and stable exchange rates. Mupita was candid about what has shifted since then. "That's all changed," he said. Market consolidation has reduced tenancy ratios across frontier markets. Inflation and currency volatility have turned predictable lease costs into compounding exposure. The original decision to move asset-light was sound under the original conditions. MTN's discipline is in recognising when those conditions have shifted far enough to warrant a different approach. Bringing towers back in-house as core digital infrastructure, while continuing to serve third-party clients, reflects a reassessment grounded in current economics rather than inherited assumptions. Our Strategic Finance and Telecom Infrastructure teams work with operators navigating exactly this kind of infrastructure strategy review. #AxiomeraPartners #DigitalTransformation #Strategy #MWC26 #MWC #GSMA