The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
On Dec. 19, Richard Yego, Managing Director of MTN Mobile Money Uganda Ltd., spoke to business reporters about the company’s performance in 2025 and its outlook for 2026. During the discussion, Yego provided insights into MTN Mobile Money’s growth, innovations, and ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion across Uganda. The Independent’s Julius Businge reports:
QUESTION: How would you summarize MTN Mobile Money’s performance in 2025?
2025 has been of both challenges and opportunities. We’ve continued to deepen access to our services and extend financial inclusion to the underserved. By the end of this year, we’re looking at over 14.5 million individual users, which is a significant jump from 13.8 million in 2024. Our target was to add at least a million users this year, and we are on track to achieve that. On the telco side, we have over 23.5 million subscribers, and while it’s challenging for all to transact regularly, the average customer transacts about six times a month.
ANSWER: How have the agent and merchant networks evolved?
Our agent network has grown to nearly 250,000 active agents, which has been a major focus. The merchant base is over 100,000 active merchants, serving customers daily. We’ve implemented solutions such as one free cash-out per day up to Shs500,000, which has reactivated dormant agents and incentivized informal merchants, such as vegetable vendors and water riders, to transact electronically.
Q: Lending seems to be a major growth area. Can you elaborate?
Lending has seen tremendous progress this year. Unique borrowers have more than doubled from 3.5 million in 2024 to over 8 million in 2025. The total number of loans has grown fivefold, and the value of loans is on track to reach Shs2.5 trillion, up from Shs1.4 trillion last year. Products like Mobile Advance, which we launched in September 2024, are driving this growth by enabling both consumers and agents to transact even when they are short on cash.
Q: Are there partnerships supporting this growth?
Absolutely… partnerships are crucial. For example, in the school fees loan program with Furaha and Standard Chartered Ventures, we disbursed over Shs5.5 billion in 2025, helping more than 10,000 students remain in school. On the insurance side, we partnered with Sanlam Insurance to allow customers to contribute as little as Shs500 toward micro-insurance. Collaborations like these ensure that our services are impactful and scalable.
Q: What about digital payments and innovations?
We’ve launched several products this year. Our virtual card, rolled out in March, allows customers to make online payments outside Uganda, and over 250,000 cards have been activated, with 100,000 consistently transacting. Our new NextGen app, launched three months ago, has been downloaded by over 500,000 users. While USSD still accounts for 95% of our traffic, our goal is to increase app usage to 20%, providing a modern, connected experience.
Q: How is MTN Mobile Money approaching merchant services?
For informal merchants, we’ve implemented merchant-to-merchant solutions, allowing stock and payments to flow efficiently. For formal merchants, we are developing a platform to handle tax payments, supplier payments, salaries, and more, which we plan to roll out in Q1 2026. This will enhance convenience for SMEs and corporates.
Q: Can you discuss MTN’s investment and savings products?
In April, we introduced a unit trust product for investors, mobilizing Shs40 billion in deposits, with Shs32 billion withdrawn, leaving assets under management at around Shs8 billion. The goal is to embed this fully on the app to make tracking and managing investments more seamless.
Q: How do you see competition and collaboration evolving?
Competition is healthy. Currently, there are 53 licensed payment service providers in Uganda. While we compete, we also collaborate to promote interoperability, reduce transaction costs, and enhance customer experience. We are working to reduce wallet-to-bank and bank-to-wallet transfer costs by up to 60%. The upcoming national switch will further streamline payments across banks, fintechs, and mobile money platforms, making transactions seamless for all customers.
Q: What is the vision for MTN Mobile Money in 2026?
Our focus is to make mobile money an everyday currency, reduce dependency on cash, and drive digital adoption. We aim to enhance lending, expand merchant services, strengthen partnerships, and deepen financial inclusion. By providing convenient, secure, and impactful financial solutions, we want to empower Ugandans to transact, save, and invest effortlessly.
