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MTN Uganda to Spin Off Fintech Unit—And It Could Reshape Africa’s Public Markets

  • Writer: Derry Thornalley
    Derry Thornalley
  • Jul 31
  • 3 min read

Updated: Aug 4

MTN Uganda has just confirmed plans to spin off its fintech and mobile money division into a standalone company, with the goal of listing it publicly within the next 3 to 5 years. On the surface, this might sound like a corporate restructuring move. But if you look closer, it’s one of the clearest signals yet that Africa’s fintech ecosystem is maturing fast—and it’s headed for the capital markets.


This isn’t just about MTN. It’s about valuation. Ownership. Transparency. And what it means for investors and customers when fintechs stop being VC playgrounds and start becoming publicly accountable, locally listed institutions.


Why This Move Matters

MTN Uganda currently serves around 21 million customers, and its mobile money business has grown into one of the most used financial tools in the country. With cash still dominating large parts of Uganda’s economy, the mobile wallet has become more than a payment method—it’s a savings account, a loan book, a remittance channel, and a business payment gateway.


By spinning this unit off, MTN isn’t just separating business lines. It’s positioning the fintech entity as an investable, regulated, revenue-generating machine—one that stands on its own merits.

We’ve seen it in Nigeria with Flutterwave’s billion-dollar valuation. We’ve seen it in Kenya with M-Pesa’s integration into the Safaricom core. Now Uganda joins the list of countries where fintech is moving from start-up to scale-up—and beyond.


Uganda Landscapes

What the IPO Could Unlock

The decision to take the fintech unit public on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) opens up a number of transformational opportunities:

  1. Local investment inclusion – Ugandan retail and institutional investors will get access to one of the country’s fastest-growing financial engines.

  2. Transparency and regulation – As a listed entity, the fintech firm will be required to publish audited accounts, governance structures, and quarterly updates.

  3. Capital for expansion – Whether MTN retains a controlling stake or not, the new company will have the independence to raise new funding—potentially regional or pan-African.

It’s not just a financial move. It’s a maturity milestone.


The Bigger Trend

What MTN Uganda is doing mirrors a broader shift across the continent. Fintech is no longer a niche or a side hustle. It’s becoming core infrastructure—and in some countries, it’s leapfrogging traditional finance altogether.


More African fintechs will go public in the next five years. Some will list locally. Others may opt for regional hubs like Nairobi or Johannesburg. A few will head straight to London or New York.


But the direction is clear: Africa’s fintech revolution is moving out of the shadows and onto the stage.


My Take

This is exactly what African capital markets need. Local IPOs of high-growth, high-utility companies. Real value creation, not just speculative hype.

If MTN Uganda gets this right, it could open the door to:

  • Cross-listed African fintech stocks

  • Pension funds participating in financial innovation

  • And a new generation of African retail investors owning the very tools they use every day.

It’s not just an IPO. It’s a blueprint.

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