By NDUMBE BELL GASTON
One of the five most significant companies in Cameroon, MTN Cameroon, on Thursday, July 25, 2019 in Douala, launched a new partnership platform called MTN Fusion, in a partnership summit that brought together some 40 partners, customers and the public, so that new developers of services or solutions can understand how to collaborate with MTN to form future win-win partnerships.
According to the company’s standpoint, “this platform will bring together the company’s current and future partners to create a new ecosystem that will bring even more value to MTN’s professional and business customers. New services and solutions will be identified that MTN Business can tailor for each of its clients such as start-ups, SMEs, multinationals; NGOs, parapublic and public sectors etc”.
The MTN Group representative from Johannesburg presented statistics that indicated the alarming low rate of penetration of internet users in Africa as part of their worries despite their hold in 22 countries. Out of a total continental population of 1 304 billion, internet users are 473 million, an inferior penetration rate of 36%, The SUN learnt. The CEO, Hendrik Kasteel as well as the General Manager Kom Franck Gerard, both explained their new preoccupations and vision which is to take services to the door step of every Cameroonian, in an all-inclusive solution-searching objective where they want the participation of creative minds with whom they can tie using MTN expertise and later, their market share, to make quick money.
While there are many opportunities to spring one to the top, in a question and answer session, Hendrik Kasteel exercised restraint at rhetorics related to financing and quickly declined that discussed projects will not be financed by them: “We are neither a philanthropic nor financial institution”, clarified the C.E.O. in amusement. He, however, went on to state that MTN will provide their expertise, while each one will look for and provide financing: “So, the risks and the final revenues will be shared appropriately”.
In a nutshell, Kom Franck Gerard explained to the press that MTN Fusion “meant the fusion of opportunities with the private sector, the public sector, and other persons. The project will be considered for a month, two or three as the case may be, to find the best way of developing the project and target takers or consumers. We bring together solution providers on a win-win bases, the end goal is to bring about more productivity”.
According to Hendrik Kasteel, “For several years now MTN has been the main digital economy driver in Cameroon. With MTN Fusion, we are continuing this momentum, but above all, providing our cutting-edge infrastructure, technologies and talents to the ecosystem in order to create a worthy circle around us and move even faster in this great digital transformation process underway in Cameroon”.
MTN also used the opportunity to discuss issues related to cyber security, artificial intelligence etc.