As telecommunications group MTN continues its transformational drive, a new programme has been launched to develop deeper relations with partners to unlock the value chain on offer to customers.

MTN Business will team up with existing and potential partners to fill any capacity or expertise gap it lacks, while providing a platform for partners to grow and expand on the back of the JSE-listed major’s expansive reach.

MTN South Africa CEO Mteto Nyati, who officially launched the Partnering to Thrive programme on Thursday, explained that value can be generated from partnerships and the “direction of partnerships”, which the company wanted to explore.

“It is clear that, as a company, we need to be doing things differently,” he said of the company’s ambitions to redefine itself based on several elements, including governance, values-based leadership, employee excellence and superior customer and partner experience.

The company now wants to become a partner- and customer-centric organisation and reverse the negative perceptions of being a closed, inflexible and arrogant company that lacks agility and innovation.

“This is the MTN of the past,” Nyati assured stakeholders at the inaugural MTN Business Partner Summit, in Johannesburg, extending an invitation to existing and potential partners to become an extension of the MTN brand through a dedicated partnership unit.

MTN Business GM for partnerships Johannes Kanis explained that, under the new MTN partner programme, selected partners, including wholesalers, retailers, wireless application service providers, original-equipment manufacturers, mobile virtual network operators, solutions partners, carriers and strategic alliances, will gain access to sales support, training, incentives and comarketing opportunities.

The newly established partner programme office will provide a platform for the recruitment, development and profiling of partners, with priority focus on unified communication, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, end-to-end security and managed infrastructure, besides others, and enable direct, focused dialogue between MTN and its partners.

“The new programme offers funding, discounts, incentives, referral fees and intellectual property revenues structured within a tiered partner model, which gives partners a range of benefits and added credibility in line with their MTN foundation partner, premier partner or elite partner status,” he explained.

With MTN’s base spanning 22 countries and subscribers reaching over 230-million, the opportunities for smaller players to expand geographically and grow were expansive, Nyati added.

“Here is the great opportunity . . . to work together to try and deliver digital services in these countries [in which MTN operates], deliver value for customers [and deliver value] to your company,” he explained.

“We have the infrastructure, but within the infrastructure, we need solutions, and you have them,” he told delegates at the summit.