MTN Bénin
MTN Bénin (SPACETEL BENIN SA) is the Beninese operating subsidiary of MTN Group, providing mobile voice, 4G/5G data, MoMo mobile money, value-added services and enterprise connectivity to consumers, SMEs and large enterprises across the Republic of Benin.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersCotonou, Benin
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What MTN Bénin does
MTN Bénin, legally SPACETEL BENIN SA, is the Benin operating subsidiary of South Africa-headquartered MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile operator, and has been active in the Beninese market for approximately 25 years under the registered MTN, Y'ello and MoMo brands. The company operates a multi-generation mobile network spanning 2G/3G/4G LTE and, as of 2025, 5G, supported by a dedicated Data Center in Calavi and a national retail agency and franchise footprint. Its product portfolio for individual subscribers spans prepaid and postpaid voice plans (Forfait Maxi, Go Pack), data bundles (Kdo, Libre, Waoh Bonus, Illimités, Volumes, MTN Extra), value-added services (MTN TV, MTN ZIK, Canal+ bundles, English Class, Ayoba, Info Fun), MTN HOME fixed broadband, and the MoMo mobile money service with a co-branded Mastercard card and a 2025-launched virtual prepaid card tokenized into Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The business segments monetize consumers through usage-based data/airtime and subscription tariffs, plus a Y'ello Biz subscription tier (Bronze 5,000 FCFA/week, Silver 7,000 FCFA/week, Gold 10,000 FCFA/week) and dedicated Postpaid Pro, Flexi and CUG Community plans for SMEs and large enterprises. B2B distribution is increasingly product-led through the 2024-launched ISpanco self-onboarding portal and exposed APIs such as MTN SMPP Pro for high-volume messaging. Mobile money (MoMo) generates transaction-fee revenue across USSD, app and card rails and is integrated with Mastercard and Apple Pay/Google Pay wallets, while the Y'ello Market (shop.mtn.bj) generates one-time hardware revenue and provides an e-commerce storefront for third-party device vendors. Roaming with operators in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo extends the revenue base beyond Benin's borders, and the company operates under a national telecom license with ARCEP wholesale catalogue and APDP data protection approvals.
MTN Bénin firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MTN Bénin
- Legal name
- SPACETEL BENIN SA
- Website
- https://mtn.bj
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- MTN Bénin (SPACETEL BENIN SA) is the Beninese operating subsidiary of MTN Group, providing mobile voice, 4G/5G data, MoMo mobile money, value-added services and enterprise connectivity to consumers, SMEs and large enterprises across the Republic of Benin.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MTN Bénin industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Telecommunications
- NAICS
- Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (517112), Telecommunications Resellers and Agents for Wireless Telecommunication Services (51712), Telecommunications Resellers (517121)
- SIC
- Radiotelephone Communications (4812), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Consumer Mobile Network Operators (Retail MNOs) (HDAIAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Carrier Billing & Telco Mobile Money (FSAMAEAD)
Keywords
Where MTN Bénin is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cotonou
- HQ country
- Benin
Offices2 records
Markets served
MTN Bénin business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Mobile Airtime & Subscription Voice Plans: Recurring and usage-based revenue from mobile voice plans (Forfait Maxi, Go Pack, prepaid bundles) and pay-as-you-go airtime consumption by individual subscribers.
- Mobile Data / Internet Bundles: Revenue from data packages branded Kdo, Libre, Waoh Bonus, Illimités and Volumes, sold on daily/weekly/monthly cadences across 2G/3G/4G/5G networks.
- MoMo (Mobile Money) Transaction Fees: Transaction-based fees on deposits, withdrawals, peer-to-peer transfers, merchant payments, bill payments and international remittances processed via MoMo USSD, app and card.
- Device Sales (Y'ello Market): One-time hardware revenue from sale of smartphones, accessories and devices (including NOKIA, Samsung, Apple and other brands) through the Y'ello Market online marketplace and physical retail points.
- Value-Added Services (MTN ZIK, MTN TV, English Class, Canal+, Ayoba): Recurring and one-off fees on entertainment, music, video, e-learning and lifestyle VAS subscriptions (MTN ZIK music, MTN TV video bundles, English class via SMS, Canal+ bundles, Ayoba messaging).
- Enterprise & Business Solutions: Recurring revenue from B2B offerings including Postpaid Pro, Flexi, CUG Community, MyMTN Business, MTN HOME and managed connectivity services for SMEs and enterprises.
- Y'ello Biz Subscription Tier: Weekly subscription fees from SMEs subscribing to Y'ello Biz tiers (Bronze 5,000 FCFA/week, Silver 7,000 FCFA/week, Gold 10,000 FCFA/week) for digital visibility and customer engagement tools.
- Roaming Services: Usage-based revenue from inbound and outbound roaming (Roam like home, free roaming allotments of 300 min/month) charged to subscribers traveling abroad.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Y'ello Biz Bronze/Silver/Gold SME subscription tiers |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | MTN ZIK music VAS bundles |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | MTN TV video VAS bundles |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | English Class SMS learning service |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Roaming (Roam like home) |
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Mobile voice plans — Forfait Maxi and Forfaits Go Pack |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Mobile data/internet bundles — Kdo, Libre, Waoh Bonus, Illimités, Volumes |
| Subscription | Monthly | Business plans — Postpaid Pro, Flexi, CUG Community |
Go-to-market motion5 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
MTN Bénin product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MTN Bénin sells mobile telecommunications services (prepaid and postpaid voice, SMS, mobile data on 2G/3G/4G LTE and 5G networks), the MoMo mobile money platform (USSD, app and Mastercard co-branded card), value-added services (MTN TV, MTN ZIK, Canal+ bundles, English Class, Ayoba), and enterprise connectivity solutions (Postpaid Pro, Flexi, CUG Community, MyMTN Business, MTN HOME). It also operates the Y'ello Market online marketplace where third-party vendors list devices and accessories for sale to consumers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ayoba: All-in-one application for chatting, calling, listening to music, news channels, and online games, offered as part of MTN Bénin's digital services.
- Y'ello Market
- MTN TV
- Y'ello Biz
- MoMo
- MyMTN
Products and services
- MoMo Mobile Money End-to-end mobile money service accessible via USSD, the MoMo App and the MoMo Mastercard co-branded card, supporting deposits, withdrawals, peer-to-peer transfers, merchant payments, bill payments, international remittances and the Carte Virtuelle MoMo virtual prepaid card for e-commerce. Targeted at individual consumers, SMEs and merchants in Benin for financial inclusion and cashless payments.
- Mobile Voice Plans (Forfait Maxi and Go Pack) Prepaid mobile voice subscription plans marketed under Forfait Maxi and Go Pack, providing configurable minutes, SMS and validity for individual subscribers on MTN Bénin's 2G/3G/4G/5G network.
- Mobile Data Bundles (Kdo, Libre, Waoh Bonus, Illimités, Volumes, MTN Extra) Mobile data packages sold on daily, weekly and monthly cadences across MTN Bénin's 4G/5G networks, including Kdo (gift/free), Libre (pay-as-you-go), Waoh Bonus, Illimités (unlimited), Volumes and MTN Extra bundles for individual consumers.
- MTN 5G Mobile Service Fifth-generation mobile broadband service for consumers and enterprises in Benin, marketed alongside existing 4G LTE coverage with a dedicated consumer landing page (mtn.bj/5g/) and an enterprise B2B 5G offer.
- International & Free Roaming International roaming voice, SMS and data service offered to MTN Bénin subscribers traveling abroad, including a 300 free minutes/month Free Roaming allotment and Roam-like-home tariffs across partner networks in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo.
- MTN TV (video streaming) Mobile video streaming value-added service (rebranded from Y'ello Vidéo) that offers national channels, films, series, cartoons and documentaries without consuming the customer's internet data allowance, activated via USSD *750*50#. Targeted at individual MTN subscribers in Benin.
- MTN ZIK (music VAS) Music value-added subscription service offered to MTN Bénin subscribers at 200 FCFA / 1 month, 300 FCFA / 2 months and 500 FCFA / 3 months bundles.
- English Class (SMS learning VAS) SMS-based English language learning subscription service priced at 25 FCFA/day, 100 FCFA/week and 250 FCFA/month for MTN Bénin individual subscribers.
- MTN Canal+ (TV bundles VAS) Canal+ television bundle content partnership distributed to MTN Bénin subscribers via MTN TV and mobile data VAS offerings.
- Ayoba Messaging Super-App All-in-one messaging super-app offering chat, voice calling, music, news channels and online games, integrated as a value-added service in MTN Bénin's VAS portfolio for individual subscribers in Benin.
- Postpaid Pro (enterprise plan) Postpaid enterprise mobile voice and data plan sold by MTN Bénin's Business division to large Beninese enterprises with bespoke configurations, dedicated account management and centralized billing.
- Flexi (enterprise plan) On-demand flexible enterprise voice and data plan sold by MTN Bénin's Business division to corporate customers needing adaptable configurations.
- CUG Community (Closed User Group plan) Closed User Group (CUG) community voice plan sold by MTN Bénin's Business division to businesses and teams needing internal-group calling at preferential rates.
- MyMTN Business Self-care web and mobile application offered by MTN Bénin for managing business SIM accounts, MoMo business wallets and enterprise connectivity services.
- MTN HOME (fixed/home internet) Fixed/home internet and managed connectivity service distributed by MTN Bénin to consumers and SMEs through home.mtn.bj and direct sales channels.
- Y'ello Biz (SME subscription platform)
Quantifiable outcome
- 300 free minutes/month offered to subscribers under roaming allotment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use MTN Bénin
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
MTN Bénin technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature6 records
MTN Bénin partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- MastercardcoreCo-branded MoMo Mastercard card extending MTN Bénin's mobile money wallet to Mastercard's global acceptance network. Cardholder data is processed by Mastercard infrastructure and acceptance, with terms published under MTN Bénin's MoMo Card section.
- MTN GroupflagshipMTN Group is the parent company of SPACETEL BENIN SA (MTN Bénin), providing group-level brand, technology, network and MoMo platform standards across MTN's pan-African footprint.
- KAMGOKO TECHNOLOGIES SARLcoreNamed as a data processor for MTN Bénin in the privacy/terms disclosures, indicating integration with subscriber or transactional data systems.
- Le CoursierminorLocal delivery/logistics service referenced by MTN Bénin to support Y'ello Market order fulfillment and device delivery to customers.
- Canal+coreContent partnership enabling Canal+ television bundles to be distributed through MTN Bénin's MTN TV and mobile data VAS offerings.
- AyobacoreAyoba messaging super-app is integrated as a value-added service in MTN Bénin's VAS portfolio, providing subscribers with a messaging platform.
- TEDDY COMminorThird-party vendor selling phones and accessories via MTN Bénin's Y'ello Market online marketplace.
- ChaftelminorThird-party vendor on the Y'ello Market marketplace selling mobile devices and accessories to MTN Bénin customers.
- KEYLAN DIGITALminorThird-party vendor on the Y'ello Market marketplace selling digital devices and accessories to MTN Bénin customers.
- AL HAMDOULILARI DISTRIBUTIONminorThird-party vendor on the Y'ello Market marketplace distributing products to MTN Bénin customers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
MTN Bénin competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Ayoba (MTN Group super-app): MTN Group messaging and content super-app distributed by MTN Bénin as a VAS; not a direct competitor, but an adjacent ecosystem asset bundled with the MTN Bénin core telco offer.
- Helios Towers: Telecom tower operator serving multiple African markets including West Africa; comparable as a passive infrastructure counterparty to MTN-style operators and a relevant benchmark for network opex economics.
- IHS Towers: Pan-African tower infrastructure provider that supplies passive network infrastructure to MTN and other African MNOs; adjacent ecosystem peer, not a direct competitor, but materially relevant to MTN Bénin's network cost structure.
Broad incumbents
- Maroc Telecom: North and West African incumbent telco with mobile, fixed and enterprise services; comparable in multi-country African operating model and enterprise/government connectivity offerings.
- Airtel Africa: Pan-African mobile operator with voice, data and mobile money (Airtel Money) offerings across multiple African markets; comparable in business model and emerging-market telco+fintech positioning.
- Safaricom (M-Pesa): Reference mobile money operator behind M-Pesa; comparable in mobile money transaction-fee monetization, agent network distribution and digital financial inclusion play, though operating primarily in Kenya.
- MTN Group (other West/Central Africa operations): Parent group operating MTN-branded mobile networks across multiple African markets; directly comparable in business model, technology stack (MoMo, Ayoba) and go-to-market motion, though spanning many countries.
- Orange (Sonatel / Orange Middle East & Africa): Orange Money and mobile network operations across West and Central Africa share the same telco+fintech model, mobile money wallet structure and emerging-market customer base as MTN Bénin.
Emerging players
- Wave (mobile money): Mobile money challenger expanding across West Africa with a low-fee P2P wallet; competes directly with MTN Bénin's MoMo on transaction-fee pricing and merchant payments in shared markets.
Direct peers
- Moov Africa (Benin): Direct mobile operator competitor in Benin, offering voice, data, 4G and mobile money services to the same consumer and SME segments as MTN Bénin.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MTN Bénin social profiles
Digital presenceMTN Bénin financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MTN Bénin leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
MTN Bénin funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MTN Bénin M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MTN Bénin
What does MTN Bénin do?
MTN Bénin sells mobile telecommunications services (prepaid and postpaid voice, SMS, mobile data on 2G/3G/4G LTE and 5G networks), the MoMo mobile money platform (USSD, app and Mastercard co-branded card), value-added services (MTN TV, MTN ZIK, Canal+ bundles, English Class, Ayoba), and enterprise connectivity solutions (Postpaid Pro, Flexi, CUG Community, MyMTN Business, MTN HOME). It also operates the Y'ello Market online marketplace where third-party vendors list devices and accessories for sale to consumers.
Is MTN Bénin a public or private company?
MTN Bénin is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was MTN Bénin founded?
MTN Bénin was founded in 2000. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is MTN Bénin based?
MTN Bénin is headquartered in Cotonou, Benin.
How does MTN Bénin make money?
Eight revenue lines are on record. Mobile Airtime & Subscription Voice Plans are the primary driver. The others are mobile Data / Internet Bundles, moMo (Mobile Money) Transaction Fees, device Sales (Y'ello Market), value-Added Services (MTN ZIK, MTN TV, English Class, Canal+, Ayoba), enterprise & Business Solutions, Y'ello Biz Subscription Tier and roaming Services.
Who are MTN Bénin's main competitors?
Others on record are Ayoba (MTN Group super-app), Helios Towers and IHS Towers. Broad incumbents are Maroc Telecom, Airtel Africa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), MTN Group (other West/Central Africa operations) and Orange (Sonatel / Orange Middle East & Africa). Wave (mobile money) is listed as an emerging player. Moov Africa (Benin) is listed as a direct peer.
Does MTN Bénin have an API?
Yes. MTN Bénin exposes a SMPP-based API (MTN SMPP Pro) that lets businesses connect their CRM, ERP, banking, or web/mobile systems directly to MTN's SMS platform for automated, high-volume two-way messaging (marketing campaigns, alerts, OTPs, confirmations). The MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) platform also exposes APIs that merchants and developers can integrate for digital payments, with on-boarding via the ISpanco self-service portal (ispanco.mtn.bj). API authentication details, rate limits, and version specifics are not publicly documented on the company's website. Developer documentation is at ispanco.mtn.bj/register-self-onboarding.
What industry is MTN Bénin in?
MTN Bénin's product category is Mobile Telecommunications. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAIAAAA, Consumer Mobile Network Operators (Retail MNOs), with a secondary code of FSAMAEAD, Carrier Billing & Telco Mobile Money. Its NAICS code is 517112 and its SIC code is 4812.