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Claim: X user, Tech in Twi, claimed that the telecommunication giant, MTN, made more profit in Ghana than neighbouring Nigeria in the first quarter of 2025.
Verdict: True. DUBAWA’s investigation revealed that the telco giant generated an estimated GHS 1.7 billion, equivalent to ₦168.3 billion, compared to ₦133.7 billion from its Nigerian operation for the first quarter of 2025.
Full Text
Social Media user Samuel Yeboah, known on X as Tech in Twi, posted on Thursday, June 5, that telecommunications provider MTN was making more profits in Ghana than in Nigeria.
Samuel has been involved in a media campaign to reduce the cost of data in Ghana.
His post on June 5 included a screenshot of a response from Grok, an AI-powered assistant on the social media platform X.
While the prompt Grok was responding to is unclear, the AI tool said, “Reports suggest MTN Ghana had a profit after tax of about $129 million in Q1 2025, while MTN Nigeria reported around $83 million.”
A screenshot of the post from Samuel Yeboah, alias Tech in Twi
Samuel’s post has since garnered over 106K views and has been retweeted about 400 times.
In a follow-up tweet on June 6, he shared another image of correspondence with another user who claimed to have contacted MTN Ghana.
A screenshot of the follow-up tweet by Tech in Twi.
Some users responding to the post have suggested that MTN Ghana’s claim of outperforming the office in Nigeria may be misleading.
Screenshot from a user expressing scepticism about the accuracy of the post
Considering the public interest his posts have generated, DUBAWA investigated the claim to confirm MTN’s profitability in Ghana and Nigeria.
Verification
The MTN Ghana Q1 2025 report quoted the telco’s profit after tax amounting to GH₵ 1.7 billion. However, MTN’s profit in Q1 2025 was ₦133.7 billion as quoted by MTN Nigeria.
DUBAWA converted MTN’s after-tax profit in Ghana to the Nigerian currency, the Naira, at GHC 1 = 99 Naira as per the Bank of Ghana’s exchange rate for March 28, 2025.
The conversion brings MTN’s total profit after tax in Ghana to ₦168.3 billion, which is ₦34.6 billion higher than the profit made in neighbouring Nigeria for 2025 Q1.
The area in red shows MTN Ghana’s profit after tax for 2025 Q1. (Source: MTN Ghana)
MTN provides voice, data, digital and mobile money services in Ghana. However, the telco giant does not offer mobile money services in Nigeria.
While it may be reasonably inferred from the MTN Ghana report that revenue from data was influential in their profit margin, we cannot be definite in this report, as high revenue does not guarantee profitability.
MTN Ghana’s Official Response
MTN Ghana delivered on its earlier claims, confirming it earned GHS 1.7 billion (approximately ₦168.3 billion) profit after tax in the first quarter of 2025, outpacing MTN Nigeria’s ₦133.7 billion in the same period.
In response to enquiries, MTN Ghana confirmed to DUBAWA that their Q1 results are publicly available and transparent:
“MTN Ghana is a listed company … and the company’s financial performances are published on a quarterly basis. As a policy, MTN Ghana does not comment on the results of other companies or other MTN operating entities.”
The response referred to the April 29, 2025, Q1 results release, which is available on both the Ghana Stock Exchange and MTN Ghana’s investor relations portal. It confirmed the accuracy of the figures without commenting on other MTN operations.
MTN Ghana declined to comment on MTN Nigeria’s figures, adhering to group policy.
Conclusion
According to MTN’s Q1 report on its operations, the Ghana office generated more revenue than its neighbouring Nigeria office.
