MTN Ghana has delivered a commanding performance at the MTN Group Global Leadership Gathering (GLG) 2026, emerging as the Overall Winner of the 2025 prestigious Million Dollar Challenge and reaffirming its dominance in both connectivity and fintech across the Group’s footprint.
The awards, announced during the three-day leadership forum held from February 2 to 4, 2026, placed Ghana firmly at the centre of MTN Group’s continental success story, with both MTN Ghana and its fintech subsidiary, MobileMoney LTD (MoMo), taking home some of the most coveted honours of the night.
At the heart of the celebrations was MobileMoney LTD Chief Executive Officer, Shaibu Haruna, who was crowned Fintech CEO of the Year and named first runner-up of the Overall CEO of the Year category, cementing his reputation as one of the Group’s most impactful leaders.
MTN Ghana named overall winner
MTN Ghana’s crowning as the Overall Winner of the 2025 Million Dollar Challenge marks a significant milestone, reflecting exceptional performance across key business pillars.
The company also secured the Million Dollar Challenge award for Connectivity – Enterprise, while MobileMoney LTD clinched the award in the Fintech category.
In addition, MTN Ghana won the Largest and Most Valuable Platform awards for Connectivity in both the Consumer and Enterprise segments.
MobileMoney LTD was also recognised with the Largest and Most Valuable Platform award for Fintech, underlining the scale and strategic importance of Ghana’s mobile financial services ecosystem within the Group.
The multiple awards underscore Ghana’s growing stature as a powerhouse in MTN’s markets, driven by strong operational execution, customer-centric innovation and disciplined leadership.
Shaibu’s fintech leadership recognised
For Shaibu Haruna, the Fintech CEO of the Year award represents the culmination of a transformative period for Ghana’s digital financial services sector.
Appointed CEO of MML in 2022, Shaibu has spearheaded a strategic shift towards advanced digital services, successfully transitioning millions of customers onto enhanced mobile payment solutions, digital lending platforms and more secure financial ecosystems.
Under his leadership, 2025 was widely regarded as a turning point for Ghana’s fintech industry.
MML recorded strong gains in customer migration to sophisticated digital offerings, while intensifying efforts to combat digital fraud.
Campaigns such as MoMoTrust and the widely publicised “Shine Your Eye” initiative played a crucial role in deepening customer awareness around digital security and building trust in mobile financial services.
These initiatives not only strengthened consumer confidence but also reinforced MTN’s broader commitment to responsible digital growth.
A seasoned executive with more than 25 years of commercial experience across Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Haruna’s career spans Fast Moving Consumer Goods, the automobile sector, financial services, e-commerce and telecoms.
The last 18 years of his professional journey have been dedicated to telecoms and digital services, where he led channel optimisation and business transformation initiatives in Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
In his acceptance remarks, Mr. Haruna congratulated his fellow finalists from Zambia and Rwanda, who placed second and third respectively in the Fintech CEO category.
He dedicated the award to the staff of MobileMoney LTD and its stakeholders, acknowledging their commitment and resilience.
Leadership alignment in a changing industry
The awards were presented during MTN Group’s annual Global Leadership Gathering, themed “3 Platforms, One MTN.”
The forum convened more than 400 senior leaders from across the Group’s markets for strategic reflection and alignment.
Hosted by MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita and his Executive Team, the GLG comes at a time of profound transformation within the telecommunications and digital services industry.
Across Africa and the Middle East, operators are navigating rising customer expectations, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and rapid technological evolution.
In this environment, sustained performance depends heavily on leadership coherence, disciplined execution and consistent decision-making across diverse markets.
The GLG serves as a focused platform for MTN’s top decision-makers to align on strategic priorities, assess performance and reinforce standards of accountability and operational excellence. The strong showing by MTN Ghana at this high-level forum signals the market’s readiness not only to compete but to lead within the Group.
Driving a bold digital vision
The awards reflect MTN Ghana’s alignment with the Group’s overarching vision “to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers.”
In recent years, Ghana’s telecom and fintech sectors have undergone rapid expansion, with mobile connectivity and digital financial services becoming central to economic participation, enterprise growth and financial inclusion.
MTN Ghana’s success in both Connectivity and Fintech categories highlights the increasing convergence of telecommunications and digital financial platforms.
The synergy between MTN’s network infrastructure and MoMo’s digital financial ecosystem continues to position Ghana as a key driver of the Group’s platform strategy.
By winning in Enterprise Connectivity, MTN Ghana demonstrated its growing influence in supporting businesses with robust digital infrastructure.
Meanwhile, its consumer connectivity recognition reinforces its leadership in retail mobile services. On the fintech side, MML’s recognition as the Largest and Most Valuable Platform underscores the scale, usage and impact of its services in Ghana’s digital economy.
Dedication to staff and stakeholders
Both MTN Ghana and MobileMoney LTD dedicated their awards to employees and stakeholders whose contributions have propelled the companies to the forefront of the Group’s operations.
The recognition not only celebrates commercial performance but also acknowledges the collaborative efforts of teams working across technical operations, customer service, compliance, risk management, digital innovation and enterprise support.
As MTN Group sharpens its focus on platform-led growth under its “3 Platforms, One MTN” strategy, Ghana’s performance at the 2026 Global Leadership Gathering stands as a testament to what disciplined execution, visionary leadership and customer-focused innovation can achieve.
With its sweeping wins in the Million Dollar Challenge and top individual honours for fintech leadership, MTN Ghana has not only elevated its status within the Group but also reinforced Ghana’s growing reputation as a leader in Africa’s digital transformation journey.
