MTN Nigeria Adjusts Fintech Strategy Amid Portfolio Decline
MTN Nigeria is revamping its fintech strategies in response to a substantial decline in active portfolios on its MoMo Payment Bank (PSB) platform. The first quarter of 2025 revealed that active MoMo accounts dropped to 2.1 million, marking a steep decrease of 55.6% from 4.8 million in the same period of 2024 and a 25% decline from 2.8 million reported in the last quarter of 2024.
Insights from Financial Results
According to its preliminary financial results, MTN attributed the decline in portfolio activity to a strategic focus on enhancing the quality of its fintech ecosystem. “This approach allowed us to onboard higher-value customers and improve float levels, thus fostering the overall health and sustainability of the ecosystem,” the company stated.
Commitment to Financial Inclusion
MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to promoting financial inclusion. As part of this vision, MTN is set to launch a targeted strategy aimed at extending digital financial services into underserved rural communities.
Plans for Rural Expansion
“We are prepared to invest and intensify our efforts to acquire high-quality markets, particularly in rural areas that are underserved, in line with our financial inclusion objectives. These initiatives align with our strategic goal of developing a more robust, inclusive, and scalable digital financial ecosystem,” added Toriola.
Strong Growth in Other Fintech Operations
Despite the decline in MoMo portfolios, MTN experienced remarkable growth in other aspects of its fintech operations. The number of agents within the MoMo network surged by 47.7%, while the merchant base witnessed a notable increase of 23.6% compared to figures from December 2024.
Fintech Revenue Surge
Fintech revenues for MTN jumped by 57.9% year-on-year, climbing from 22.8 billion naira in the first quarter of 2024 to 36 billion naira in the first quarter of 2025. This significant uplift has primarily been attributed to the success of its micro-loan product, XTRATHE, as well as enhanced revenue streams and a strategic focus on acquiring more valuable customers.
Improvements in Customer Engagement
Furthermore, MTN highlighted that enhancements made to its customer acquisition strategies—initiated in the third quarter of 2024—have optimized incentives, boosted customer engagement, and reinforced performance across sales and distribution channels.
Digital Services Achieve Remarkable Growth
MTN’s digital services segment also reported a remarkable 92.1% growth in revenue, driven by increased demand for rich media content and improvements in user experience. Although the number of users for media-based services (excluding Ayoba) declined from 19.4% to 7.9 million since December 2024 due to platform optimization, the company emphasized an enhancement in overall user engagement.