by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – MTN Group and Microsoft have announced a strategic alliance agreement to accelerate digital and cloud transformation.
They are working towards a shared vision of driving Africa’s growth.
The agreement is in support of MTN’s strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress to support governments, businesses of all sizes and customers using the versatility of Microsoft platforms, solutions and capabilities to accelerate value creation.
The agreement centres on transforming and modernising MTN’s communications and technology infrastructure together with harnessing capabilities and building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Microsoft – a company with the strength and scale to complement MTN’s capabilities and to support our Ambition 2025 strategy,” said Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Chika Ekeji.
“Together we will use the power of technology and connectivity to innovate and accelerate the digitalisation and development of the continent.”
Furthermore, the two companies will develop joint go-to-market plans across the major markets where MTN operates to serve the digital transformation ambitions of African enterprise customers.
Microsoft will invest in skilling MTN Group resources to drive focused selling of Microsoft’s products and cloud services in Africa.
“Our valuable, longstanding partnership with MTN will play a pivotal role in Africa’s digital transformation, and we are proud to continue building on that decade-long collaboration with our newest venture,” said Samer Abu-Ltaif, Corporate Vice-President and President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa.
In addition to the cloud transformation and joint enterprise go-to-market plans, the partnership includes ongoing knowledge-sharing, innovation and growth opportunities.
Joint initiatives will be in areas such as digital education, micro-SME digitisation, fintech and gaming, thereby creating shared value and extending digital and financial inclusion across Africa.
– CAJ News