Wanda Matandela appointed as MTN Cameroon CEO amid other big managerial changes

Leading network provider MTN has announced the appointment of Wanda Matandela as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Cameroon. Matandela currently serves as the Chief Commercial Operations officer at MTN South Africa and will assume his new position on 1 March 2025.

While announcing several key changes in its management via a press release on Wednesday, the telco said that Matandela will replace Mitwa Ng’ambi, the current CEO of MTN Cameroon. The company also recognized his wide range of experience and the growth he has brought to the company.

“Matandela joined MTN in 2018 as Chief Enterprise Business Officer and drove the turnaround of the business. With over 20 years of experience, including more than 13 years in telecoms, he has held strategic roles across the FMCG and financial services sectors,” the statement reads.

In addition, Wanda has served on the boards of Supersonic (Pty) Ltd and MTN Rwanda PLC. His strong commercial and stakeholder management experience has been invaluable as he builds on the high impact and energy created under Mitwa’s leadership. Wanda also channelled new capabilities and insights towards driving growth in Cameroon.

For Ng’ambi, she will be replacing Djibril Ouattara as CEO of the Côte d’Ivoire subsidiary, also effective 1 March 2025. Prior to her role in Cameroon, Ng’ambi was CEO of MTN Rwanda. 

According to the group, Ng’ambi has successfully led the renewal of its Rwandan license and spearheaded its growth and listing on the country’s Stock Exchange. She has also previously held leadership positions at Airtel Tigo in Ghana and Tigo in Senegal. 

The group likewise stressed Ng’ambi’s commitment to the growth and development of the company’s subsidiaries she had worked for. 

“Ng’ambi brings over 15 years of telecom experience and transformational leadership, having served as CEO of MTN Cameroon since September 2022. She is also the Board Chairperson of Mobile Money Corporation, MTN’s fintech subsidiary in Cameroon. Ng’ambi’s experience and track record will add impetus to the growth and turnaround of MTN Côte d’Ivoire,” the group said.

Mitwa Ng’ambi will be replacing Djibril Ouattara who is taking an early retirement. The company noted his input during his helm of the leadership role. “We thank Djibril for his significant contributions… including his leadership of MTN Congo-Brazzaville. To ensure an orderly handover, Djibril will support Mitwa during her transition for a few months.”

Other key changes in MTN

Mazen Mroue, MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer (GCTIO) will take on the additional responsibility of CEO of the digital infrastructure business (Infraco). “This new role will incorporate the mobility and fibre businesses of Bayobab, along with executing our data centre strategy as we position for growth and profitability in the development of AI across Africa,” the telecoms company said. 

Also, the telecoms company announced the departure of Frédéric Schepens, CEO of its infrastructure business Bayobab. The company thanked Frédéric for his contributions and wished him success in his future endeavours. It also emphasized that Schepens leaves the telecommunications group effective immediately.

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita extended his best wishes and appreciation to all incoming and outgoing colleagues. While expressing confidence in the internal succession bench strength of the business, he emphasizes the importance of driving execution and maintaining their commitment to digital and financial inclusion priorities across regions.

On another end, key managerial changes in the company are coming when its subsidiaries in Nigeria and Ghana achieve the feat of the fastest network. Earlier this month, MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecommunications company by a stretch, was ranked as the network with the fastest download and upload speed in West and Central Africa.

According to Ookla’s latest Speedtest Intelligence data report, MTN Nigeria was able to achieve this feat thanks to its 5G network. The report which covered from Q2 2022 to Q2 2024 especially considered how these subsidiaries performed in comparison with each other and how they evolved between the period under review.

According to the report, the telecoms giant hit a download speed of 95.62 Mbit/s in Nigeria, largely attributed to its 5G network. This significantly widened its lead over the other subsidiaries in the region in terms of download speeds, especially the Ghanaian subsidiary, its closest competitor. The subsidiary is also reported to have trumped other subsidiaries in median upload speed, hitting 17.01 Mbit/s. This is a significant gap compared to the 16.74 Mbit/s achieved by MTN Ghana.

The report also noted that the Nigerian and Ghanaian subsidiaries were also in the lead in terms of median multi-server latency. It specially acknowledged its Ghana subsidiary for achieving this without even launching the 5G network. While lauding the achievements of both MTN Nigeria and Ghana, the report also noted that all the subsidiaries that were reviewed witnessed growth in their performances. 

Read More: MTN Nigeria has the fastest internet speed among its subsidiaries in West and Central Africa.