In Lagos’s Tejuosho Market, where piles of aso-oke cloth and geometric ankara patterns wash a market stall in a wave of color, Simisola Majekodunmi is busy taking her family textile business online.
Connectivity is rewiring possibility for Africa’s digital natives
As Africa’s leading connectivity and digital services provider reaches over 300 million customers, two ambitious locals explain how MTN is connecting the continent to the tools it needs to prosper.
As Africa’s leading connectivity and digital services provider reaches over 300 million customers, two ambitious locals explain how MTN is connecting the continent to the tools it needs to prosper.
Need to know:
For Africa’s digital natives, connectivity is increasingly vital in accessing trade, education, financial tools and opportunity.
As MTN Group reaches 300 million customers across Africa, mobile connectivity is helping small businesses reach customers beyond physical marketplaces.
Through the MTN Skills Academy and MTN Foundation scholarships, young Africans are gaining digital skills for future careers.
MTN’s MoMo platform serves 67.4 million users, processing 6.3 billion transactions worth $163 billion in Q1 2026.
Across the city at the University of Lagos, engineering student Adedamola Adenuga is studying hard for a career in artificial intelligence.
Their stories may seem very different but taken together they show how Africans are harnessing digital tools to transform their prospects.
For MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, driving this digital shift is their mission.
By building deeper connectivity across the continent, the operator is providing the foundations for Africa's next generation of entrepreneurs to soar.
From market stall
to mobile marketplace
Majekodunmi grew up in the hustle of Tejuosho Market. Her mother traded in textiles here, using the business to raise and support her children. And though Majekodunmi went on to earn both a BSc and an MSc, she eventually returned to the market stall she loved.
“I was born into this business, and this is what I know,” she says. “It’s what my mother trained us in.”
What has changed is the way Majekodunmi has modernized the family business by integrating e-commerce and digital marketing techniques into its operations. For previous owners, growth depended on those who passed the shop and word of mouth. Now, through WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, Majekodunmi can showcase new designs on a digital shop front, take orders from new customers, and send products across the country.
“Technology has really helped our business,” she says. “Before, unless you came to the shop, you couldn’t see what we had. Now, even if you live far away, you can see it on my social media.”
But online visibility only takes a business so far. And as more customers move away from cash, small traders increasingly need ways to take payments that are fast, secure, and familiar to the people using them. That’s why Majekodunmi began using MTN’s MoMo platform, because it fitted naturally into how she was already working.
“I liked MoMo because I was already familiar with MTN’s services and network,” she says. “It was easier, sharper, and quicker.”
MoMo is designed to help businesses access financial services including payments, e-commerce, insurance, lending, and remittances. Across 14 markets, the platform reached 67.4 million users in the first quarter of 2026, processing 6.3 billion transactions worth $163 billion. In a business built on personal reputation, consistency and trust matter.
“We built this business on hard work and sweat, so the financials need to be secure,” she explains. “That’s why I chose a brand that is trusted in Nigeria.”
Mastering the skills
of tomorrow
If connectivity is helping entrepreneurs like Majekodunmi grow their markets, it’s also helping young people prepare for industries that are being reshaped by technology.
Adenuga is a University of Lagos student, and MTN Foundation scholar with ambitions to work in AI and robotics. Through the MTN Skills Academy, and its associated Career Academy, she has completed courses in cloud engineering, front-end and back-end engineering, DevOps, and project management.
MTN Foundation Scholarship
13,700 scholarships to nearly 5,000 science and technology scholars since its inception
MTN Skills Academy
Is designed to provide access to digital and financial skills training across Africa
That’s why MTN is removing the barriers that can hinder learning. “They provide access to the courses but also access to data,” she says, “so we don’t have to worry about money to actually learn these things.”
As Africa becomes increasingly digitalized, the risk of a divide has now moved beyond access to technology to who has the access to participate in the opportunities technology creates. Connectivity is what can bridge this gap. For small businesses, it can turn a market stall into an online business. For students, it can turn curiosity into careers.
“I love learning,” she explains. “And with the Digital Skills Academy, if I see something I like I can take a course on it.”
MTN Skills Academy is designed to provide access to digital and financial skills training across Africa, with MTN Nigeria’s Digital Skills for Digital Jobs initiative giving young Nigerians free access to learning that prepares them for future-tech job opportunities. This is alongside the wider MTN Foundation scholarship, which has awarded over 13,700 scholarships to nearly 5,000 science and technology scholars since its inception.
“With the boom of the AI industry, digital skills are more important than ever,” Adenuga explains. “You need to know the basics first, otherwise you may not know how to use AI or understand the ethics to follow.”
If Majekodunmi’s and Adenuga’s stories tell us anything, it’s that MTN is helping people work with greater confidence, learn with greater freedom, and connect to futures that once felt out of reach. Majekodunmi says,
“Connectivity means you can start anywhere. It doesn’t matter how much you have, just go for it.”
If Majekodunmi’s and Adenuga’s stories tell us anything, it’s that MTN is helping people work with greater confidence, learn with greater freedom, and connect to futures that once felt out of reach. Majekodunmi says,
“Connectivity means you can start anywhere. It doesn’t matter how much you have, just go for it.”
Find out more about how MTN is working to build a more connected Africa.