The man who wanted to be an astronaut and now makes R272,000 a day as a tech CEO in South Africa
Ralph Mupita grew up wanting to become an astronaut, became a civil engineer, and then went on to become the CEO of MTN, the second-largest mobile telephone network in South Africa.
Mupita was born in Zimbabwe, where he grew up until he finished high school. After matriculating, he moved to South Africa to complete his tertiary education.
He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT).
He also went on to study at Harvard University in the Graduate Management Program.
Mupita started his career as a staff civil engineer at Haw and Inglis Civil Engineering in Cape Town, where he worked for over three years.
Before joining MTN as its CEO, Ralph Mupita served as CEO of Old Mutual Markets from 2012 to 2017.
Prior to joining MTN, Mupita oversaw operations in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Under his leadership, the business served 19 million customers and managed approximately R1 trillion in assets.
“Ralph Mupita is a seasoned business leader with a career spanning engineering, financial services and telecommunications across emerging markets,” said MTN.
He has served as Group President and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group since September 2020, having previously been Group Chief Financial Officer from April 2017.
“At MTN, Ralph has driven initiatives that strengthened the Group’s capital position, advanced portfolio optimisation and expanded local participation through public listings in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda,” said MTN.
Mupita is a member of several boards within the MTN ecosystem, which includes MTN South Africa, MTN Nigeria, and MTN Group Fintech.
He actively participates in global industry leadership, serving as the Deputy Chair of the GSMA and as a Commissioner on the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita received a total remuneration of R99.313 million for the 2025 financial year.
This represents a 53.4% increase from his 2024 package of R64.751 million, driven largely by higher short-term incentives and the vesting of long-term incentives following the company’s return to profit.
MTN’s first quarter results
MTN has significantly improved its financial performance, bouncing back from a loss of nearly R11 billion in 2024 to a profit of over R27 billion in 2025, while also surpassing the 300 million customer milestone.
In 2024, MTN reported a loss of R10.9 billion, primarily due to the devaluation of the Naira in its largest market, Nigeria.
However, 2025 proved to be a much stronger year for the company, with a profit of R27.4 billion.
Of this profit, R20 billion was attributable to the company’s equity holders, while the remainder was allocated to non-controlling interests.
As a result, basic earnings per share saw a remarkable increase of 314.5%, reaching 1,113 cents, and reported headline earnings surged by 1,058% to 1,274 cents.
“Operationally, we delivered strong growth in earnings, free cash flow and improved returns,” said Group CEO and President Ralph Mupita.
“The performance was underpinned by improved macroeconomic conditions in key markets and driven by strong operational execution and disciplined capital allocation,” he said.
In 2025, the group’s service revenue increased by 22.7% to R218.5 billion, driven by remarkable growth of 54.9% in MTN Nigeria and 35.9% in MTN Ghana, both on a constant currency basis.
MTN South Africa experienced a modest overall service revenue growth of 2.0%, primarily due to competitive pressures in the prepaid segment.
The group also maintained strong performance in other markets, including MTN Uganda, MTN Cameroon, MTN Côte d’Ivoire, and MTN Zambia.
These results were bolstered by continued investment in networks and platforms, with the group investing R38.5 billion over the year.
It connected 16.3 million new customers to its networks, raising its total base to 307 million. The number of active data customers increased by 9.4% to reach 172.6 million.
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