MTN Nigeria CEO, Karl Toriola Takes Over Francophone Africa Operations

MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola takes on added responsibility for Francophone Africa as MTN revamps leadership to accelerate fintech and digital infrastructure growth

Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, has been appointed to oversee MTN’s operations in Francophone Africa, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin, as part of a sweeping executive realignment by MTN Group.

Also read: MTN Nigeria data centre launches to disrupt cloud market with bold vision

The move is aimed at driving revenue growth and sharpening the group’s focus on connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure across the continent.

“The executive changes are about positioning our leadership team to accelerate our strategic priorities,” MTN said in a statement.

MTN has raised its medium-term service revenue growth guidance from “mid-teens” to “high teens”, citing strong performance in key markets.

In H1 2025, MTN Group’s service revenue grew by 22% to R105.1 billion ($5.97 billion), led by Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda.

Total revenue climbed 20% to R109.26 billion, while profit rebounded to R9.7 billion after a loss of R7.39 billion a year earlier.

Nigeria remains a standout performer, delivering a 71.8% increase in fintech revenue to ₦83 billion, driven by airtime lending and customer deposits.

MTN also deployed 3,700 new sites across its network in H1 2025, including 327 5G-enabled locations, and launched the Dabengwa Tier III Data Centre as part of a $240 million infrastructure programme spanning fibre optics and satellite technology.

The leadership shake-up aligns with MTN’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which seeks to reposition the company as Africa’s leading digital platform, going beyond telecoms into financial inclusion, broadband expansion, and platform services.

Other leadership changes include:

Ferdi Moolman, former CEO of MTN Nigeria, now CEO of MTN South Africa.
Charles Molapisi returns as Group Chief Technology and Information Officer, with a focus on AI adoption.
Mazen Mroué will now lead the digital infrastructure portfolio, overseeing fibre and data centre growth.

Toriola’s expanded role signifies MTN’s confidence in leveraging Nigeria’s leadership expertise to bolster performance in its Francophone markets.

The telecom giant is now competing not only with African rivals but also with global tech giants eyeing the continent’s digital potential.

Also read: MTN becomes first quoted company in Nigeria to post N2 trillion in revenues

As MTN doubles down on fintech, infrastructure, and connectivity, it continues to evolve from a traditional telecom provider into a technology-first platform operator, ready for the digital economy of tomorrow.