Profile of MTN Ghana (Scancom Plc); member of MTN Group.

Profile of MTN Ghana (Scancom Plc); member of MTN Group.

MTN Ghana (Scancom Plc), was established as a limited liability company in April, 1994, and it started doing business in November, 1996 under the brand name Spacefon.

On October 13, 2016, the business rules were changed so that it could become a publicly traded company, and on September 5, 2018, its shares were listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. 

The provision of mobile financial inclusion, solutions for businesses and the provision of telecommunication services, including voice and data services, are the two primary operations of the company.

MTN Ghana is the most dominant telecommunications service provider in Ghana. As of June 2022, the company had 25.8 million mobile voice subscribers, which was equivalent to 63.06% of the market share. MTN Group Limited, a business that was formed in the Republic of South Africa and is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, serves as the corporation's ultimate holding company.

Evolution MTN Ghana (Scancom Plc) over the years

Scancom PLC, which is currently doing business under the brand name MTN Ghana, may be thought of as a youthful firm that has developed and matured beyond its years despite the fact that it is only twenty-eight years old.

MTN Ghana's origins can be traced back to 1994, when Scancom Limited was first established as a legal business entity in Ghana. The firm officially started doing business two years later, in November 1996, under the trade name Spacefon.

In Ghana's telecommunications market, Spacefon was the first company to offer a service based on the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), and the company also pioneered the introduction of advanced features such as Caller ID, call forwarding, call waiting, call barring, and itemised billing.

The first location of the firm was on the Graphic Road in Accra, and it was initially staffed by a group of twenty young individuals who were full of energy. 

The firm had just one location for its operations, and that location on the Graphic Road served as both the company's headquarters and its service centre.

These industrious employees increased the company's customer base via their dogged persistence and laborious efforts. Over time, Scancom Plc expanded to the point that it outgrew its office on Graphic Road. As a result, the company's headquarters were relocated to Ridge Towers, although Graphic Road continued to house the company's Technical Office and Service Center.

Scancom has seen a steady transformation of its offerings to customers based on evolving technology, starting with GPRS, EDGE, 2G, 3G, and HSPA and progressing all the way up to fibre optics and 4G services. This transformation was inspired by the need to provide excellent telecommunications services.

At every level of the company's expansion, this consistent evolution in the integration of cutting-edge technology into the Company's network to offer new relevant services was evident.

The year 2009 marked the beginning of a new age of technological revolution for the nation, and it was marked by the deployment of 3G services as well as the introduction of mobile money. MTN Ghana continues to create a strong imprint in the market for the provision of data services even as the voice market continued to expand.

The strategic alliances formed by the corporation contributed to the rise in the number of people using smartphones and, therefore, data.

In 1998, Spacefon became the first company in Ghana to provide prepaid services and named their product SNAP. It was equipped with several of the capabilities that are often associated with digital mobile phone services.

As the business expanded, so did its ownership, and in August 2005, Scancom announced the final step in the progression of its brand, which had previously been known as Spacefon, Spacefon Areeba, and Areeba.

As a result of this transformation, Scancom Ghana became a part of the Areeba global brand, which also includes its sister networks in other parts of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

MTN Group made the announcement that it will be entering the Ghanaian market via the purchase of Investcom in the month of May 2006. Areeba, the previous name of MTN Group's subsidiary in Ghana, was changed to MTN on August 2, 2007.

The "new" firm, MTN Ghana, had strengthened its position as the market leader in Ghana's telecommunications industry by increasing the amount of effort it puts into marketing while simultaneously delivering innovative products and services to its customers.

It has constantly been at the forefront of leading technology developments in Ghana, and it places a strong emphasis on placing the happiness of its customers at the core of its business operations.

In 2006, when MTN completed its purchase of Scancom, the company already had 2.5 million customers signed up for service. This number had reached four million by the time 2007 came to a close, and it had quadrupled to eight million by the time 2009 came to a close.

After another two years, in 2011, MTN hit the milestone of 10 million customers, and little over three years later, in July 2015, the firm reached the milestone of 15 million subscribers.

MTN Ghana Foundation
The MTN Foundation serves as the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management wing for the MTN Group's associated projects across all 21 of its different business segments.

In 2007, MTN formed the MTN Ghana Foundation as a single-purpose entity to drive all of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility projects in the nation. Health and education are the two primary areas that the foundation focuses on at the moment.

The Foundation is its own autonomous legal body, complete with its own Board of Directors and patrons, who are responsible for monitoring and directing the Foundation's day-to-day business activities.

In order to demonstrate its dedication to the nation's overall socioeconomic development, the Foundation works to enhance the quality of people's lives in the places in which it is active by implementing social programmes that are both effective and environmentally responsible.

The mission of the foundation is to have a significant and widespread influence on the community while also providing assistance for important national and international development issues. It makes collaboration and the exchange of resources easier so that both parties may accomplish their goals.

The worldwide policy of MTN is to allot a certain amount of each operational unit's profit after tax (PAT) for the purpose of engaging in initiatives related to corporate social responsibility. The foundation utilizes these monies toward the many programmes that it runs.

Key Milestones/Achievements of MTN Ghana

• 2020 -The company with the largest number of Shareholders in Ghana.
• 2020 - MTN adjudged Ghana’s number one company for two years running.
• 2020 - First Telco to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
• 2019 - First Operator to launch 4G plus.
• 2016 - First mobile operator to offer 4G services and only provider with 4G services available in all regions in Ghana.
• 2015 - First company to achieve the 15 million subscriber milestone.
• 2013 - Leading tax payer and adjudged the Best Tax payer in Ghana in 2013 and 2014, 2017, 2018 and Platinum Award in 2019.
• 2011 - First mobile operator in Ghana to record 10 million subscribers.
• 2010 - First indigenous African company to sponsor the World Cup 2010 (MTN Group).
• 2010 - First to build an ultra-modern switch and data center.
• 2009 - First in Africa to introduce Blade Cluster Technology.
• 2009 - First to introduce 3G commercial service.
• 2009 - First to launch Mobile Money.
• 2008 - First telco in Ghana to launch dynamic tariffing (MTN Zone).
• 2008 - First to launch Blackberry service.
• 2007 - First telco to set up a Foundation in Ghana.
• 2006 - First to launch fixed mobile (FWAP).
• 2006 - First to provide telecommunications coverage in all 10 regions and district capitals in Ghana.
• 2005 - First to launch electronic recharge.
• 2004 - First to launch EDGE in Ghana.
• 2004 - First to launch GPRS in Ghana.
• 1998 - Spacefon launched the first prepaid service and christened it SNAP.
• 1997 - First to introduce itemized billing.
• 1996 - First to introduce GSM technology in Ghana (with attendant enhanced services like caller ID, call waiting, forwarding, holding, barring and transfer, SMS and conference calls).

Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk