true valuebeyond its reported profits, accounting for economic, social, and environmental impact between 2022 and 2024.
Mulinge says the transparency holds MTN accountable to customers, employees, investors, and government, showing both achievements and areas that still need work.
Emissions Down, Workforce More Balanced
Sustainability is now built into MTN’s operations, from network investment to climate action. The company reports a 45 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions against its 2021 baseline, with broader Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions down 50.3 percent. A solar project at company headquarters is part of a stated push toward net zero by 2040.
On the social side, MTN Uganda now counts 24.2 million subscribers and invested Shs 5.1 billion in corporate social initiatives. Women make up 52.4 percent of the workforce. Economically, the company contributed Shs 1.6 trillion in taxes, spent Shs 1 trillion with local suppliers, and reported capital expenditure of Shs 549.4 billion.
Where the Shs 34.9 Trillion Figure Comes From
MTN commissioned a ESG assessment from KPMG to estimate value created beyond standard financial reporting. That assessment put the figure at Shs 34.9 trillion between 2022 and 2024, split into Shs 17.1 trillion in economic value and Shs 17.8 trillion in social value. MTN frames this as roughly 22.4 times its reported financial profit over the same period.
These true value assessments rely on assumptions about how to price things like avoided emissions, financial inclusion, and job creation, figures that don’t appear on a standard balance sheet because they aren’t cash transactions. The methodology is common in corporate ESG reporting, but it means the 22.4x multiplier reflects a modeling exercise, not an audited financial return.
Supporting metrics point to genuine underlying growth regardless. Mobile money transaction value rose from Shs 158.6 trillion to Shs 195.5 trillion, and loans disbursed through the platform increased from Shs 1.5 trillion to Shs 2.7 trillion in 2025.
How MTN Is Trying to Make This Credible
Mulinge pushes back against treating sustainability as a simple ranking exercise. She points instead to the systems MTN built to support its claims. The company adopted IFRS S1 and S2 disclosure standards early, obtained independent assurance from EY, and accounted for Scope 3 emissions across 11 separate categories.
MTN also created a dedicated Sustainability and Shared Value function and folded climate related risks into its Enterprise Risk Management process, rather than treating ESG as a side function reporting up separately.
A Framework Tied to National Goals
MTN positions its sustainability framework as directly supporting Uganda’s National Development Plan and Vision 2040, arguing that connectivity itself functions as national infrastructure. Four pillars guide the approach:
- Doing for Planet
- Doing for People
- Doing it Right
- Doing for Growth
These translate into stated priorities around affordable connectivity, financial inclusion, and gender inclusion. Mulinge frames commercial growth and national development as mutually reinforcing rather than competing goals.
Mulinge’s Advice to Other Companies
Sustainability, in Mulinge’s view, needs to be owned across the entire business rather than sitting with a single department. That ownership starts with the board and executive leadership. Her advice to other corporates is straightforward: identify material issues, measure impact honestly, and report progress transparently rather than selectively.
Readers can follow MTN’s updates through WhatsApp and Telegram. MTN also points to internal culture data as evidence of buy in, citing its 2025 Group Culture Audit where every respondent reported pride in working for the company and 99 percent said they were willing to go beyond their formal role.
Hashlytics Take
The emissions cuts, EY assurance, and IFRS adoption are the parts of this report worth taking seriously, since they’re independently verifiable and represent real operational commitments. The Shs 34.9 trillion “true value” figure is a different category of claim entirely. It’s a KPMG modeling exercise built on assumptions about how to price social and environmental impact, not an audited financial outcome, and the 22.4x multiplier makes for a much better headline than it does a rigorous metric. Companies serious about ESG credibility would do well to separate the two: report the hard numbers plainly, and let the value modeling speak for itself without dressing it up as profit.
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