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Mastercard has agreed to purchase a minority stake in the fintech division of MTN Group, Africa\u2019s largest cellphone provider, which it values at $5.2 billion. The signing of the formal investment agreements will likely occur very soon as both parties near the end of the regular due diligence process; the investment will be closed subject to usual closing conditions, MTN announced in a statement<\/a> on the company\u2019s half-year financial performance posted on Monday.<\/p>\n According to MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita, the deal will be structured as a commercial partnership on payments and remittances employing Mastercard\u2019s technical infrastructure to develop throughout Africa and an investment in a minority share. He stated that the share size would be announced after completing the transaction, per Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe delivered a resilient performance in H1 23 and made good strategic progress against a tough macro backdrop. In South Africa, we were very encouraged by the improved network availability on the back of our power-resilience investment, resulting in a stronger Q2 23 performance than Q1 23,\u201d Mupita said in the statement. \u201cIn Nigeria, we delivered a very strong operational result, having navigated the cash shortages in Q1 23 and increased inflation. The policy changes implemented in Nigeria in Q2 \u201923 have short-term negative impacts, but we see these as being very constructive for the investment climate in the medium to longer term.\u201d<\/p>\n This news comes a year after MTN Group said it was searching for minority investors to invest in its African fintech subsidiary after separating it from the carrier\u2019s main telecom business to maximize development in the thriving division. The Johannesburg-based company\u2019s aspirations were boosted after obtaining a mobile banking license in Nigeria, its largest market, which allowed MTN to offer financial services to millions of new clients.<\/p>\n For the first half of this year, the transactions recorded by MTN\u2019s mobile money business increased by 37% to $8.3 billion; over 60 million active users executed them. At the end of June 2023, the MTN Group had over 290 million subscribers.<\/span><\/p>\n