Telecommunications group MTN Group has, for the first time, achieved Level 1 broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) contributor status in South Africa.

The milestone, for the financial year ended December 2021, improves on MTN’s Level 2 contributor status for 2020.

The group’s annual BBBEE compliance report also shows that its major subsidiary, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), retained its Level 1 BBBEE contributor status for the third consecutive year.

“We are very pleased by the progress we are making as MTN Group in driving broad-based transformation. The achievement of the Level 1 contributor status for both our group and our South African operation is a truly major milestone,” says MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita.

The company says that key to its sustainability and creation of shared value is broad-based transformation and socioeconomic contributions to the markets in which it operates.

“Notable improvements for the group were a 4.5-point increase in our management control score,” he says, highlighting the company’s consistent alignment to the targets based on the economically active population, as well as from changes in the composition of the board of directors, with the appointment of more women.

MTN’s equity ownership score improved by 0.94 points after maximising the designated group sub-indicator.

“MTN will continue to work to contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s socioeconomic transformation, prioritising enterprise and supplier development and skills development in 2022,” says Mupita.

This includes supporting several learnership programmes, which is particularly critical at a time of rising unemployment, Mupita elaborated.

“In an environment of mounting economic challenges, we are pleased to be able to help create meaningful opportunities for South Africans. In 2022, we will work harder to provide a world-class enterprise and supplier development programme to deliver more sustainable solutions that are aligned with government’s efforts to speed up the inclusion of black-owned businesses in the mainstream economy,” concludes MTN SA CEO Charles Molapisi.