When Forbes asked more than 300,000 workers across over 50 countries a simple question, “Would you recommend your employer to family and friends?”, employees of MTN Group gave an answer loud enough to place the company third among telecommunications employers worldwide on the Forbes World’s Best Employers 2026 list.
It is the second year in a row MTN has held that spot, and the sixth consecutive year it has made the list at all, a run of consistency that suggests the result is no fluke.
The overall numbers are even more striking. In 2023, MTN sat at 394th. By 2026 it had leapt to 133rd out of 900 companies assessed globally, a gain of 261 places in three years, including a 33-place jump in the latest edition alone.
That performance makes MTN the fifth-highest-ranked African company on the entire list. More notably, it is the continent’s top-ranked company outside the financial services sector, a field that typically dominates African corporate rankings.
How the List Works
The Forbes ranking is not a corporate self-assessment or a PR exercise. It is built on an independent, anonymous survey, so employees can speak candidly without fear of consequences. That anonymity gives the result weight: the praise comes from the people who actually work inside the company.
MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita framed the recognition as a reflection of what drives the business. In his view, the company’s ambitions for Africa ultimately rest on its people, whose ingenuity, resilience and commitment turn possibility into progress. He described a sixth straight appearance as a proud moment, made more meaningful because the list is shaped by employees’ own voices and experiences.
The timing matters. MTN is only now beginning to execute its Ambition 2030 strategy, which seeks to position the Group as a leader in digital solutions that advance Africa’s development. The ranking suggests the company enters that phase with a motivated workforce behind it.
The Data Behind the Sentiment
MTN has numbers to back up the goodwill. In the 2025 Group Culture Audit, independently assessed by Willis Towers Watson, the score for employees recommending MTN as a place to work reached +63, a rise of 16 points since 2023.
Retention tells the same story. Voluntary turnover fell from 5.7% to 4.0% over the same period, meaning fewer people are choosing to leave.
MTN Group Rolls Out New Entertainment Platform, MTN One TV
Between 95% and 97% of employees take part in the Group’s internal surveys, giving leadership a steady, near-complete picture of how staff experience their jobs. Few large organisations can claim that level of engagement with their own feedback process.
Culture in Practice
MTN attributes the recognition to the energy, passion and resilience its people bring each day: how they serve customers, support colleagues, shape workplace culture and push the business forward. It also sees the result as evidence that its Live Inspired Employee Value Promise and Live Y’ello values are moving from slogans to lived reality.
That culture operates at remarkable scale and diversity. MTN’s workforce spans more than 70 nationalities across its footprint, working in Connectivity, Fintech and Digital Infrastructure. The Live Inspired promise and Live Y’ello values are designed to create an environment where people can contribute meaningfully, keep learning and feel included.
For Ghana and the wider continent, the ranking carries a broader message. Competing for talent against global giants is an uphill task for African firms, and a top-tier employer reputation helps MTN attract and keep skilled professionals who might otherwise look abroad. It also shows that an African-headquartered company can set a world-class standard for workplace culture, not just for services or market share.
As telecoms, mobile money and digital infrastructure become central to Africa’s economic future, employers that earn the trust of their workforce will be best placed to deliver on those ambitions. On the evidence of this ranking, MTN is making that case convincingly.