Nedbank Connect, Nedbank’s recently launched mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), is taking a slow and steady approach to entering the South African market, but its ambitions are broader, with other markets in Africa firmly in its sights.
Eugene Liebenberg, head of digital products at Nedbank, said in an interview with TechCentral that many of the choices the bank has made while developing its MVNO – including the decision to use MTN as its network partner and MVNX as a technology platform – are geared towards giving Nedbank Connect the flexibility to tailor its offering for new markets.
“Strategically, we wanted to be technically enabled so that we don’t have to port systems or look for additional technology partners later on,” said Liebenberg.
“We want to scale the South African business first, and then as the African economies and some of those regulators [make their markets] available, we will have a closer look at them. The first country that opens up MVNOs and the regulator approves is where we will focus first.”
Liebenberg said Nedbank Connect’s South African launch serves a testing ground for the bank’s MVNO services, offering it the opportunity to test retail strategies and iron out any technical challenges that need to be addressed.
In anticipation of different markets requiring suitably customised MVNO offerings, Liebenberg and his team made technical decisions that are likely to ease the process of entering new markets when the time comes.
The first of these is choosing MTN as its infrastructure partner to provide the network backbone Nedbank Connect uses to offer services to customers. According to Liebenberg, MTN’s good track record in network quality in recent years was the first key metric driving Nedbank’s decision. The second was MTN’s large footprint across Africa, with operations in 15 African markets, including South Africa.
MVNO models
This also played into its choice of mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) to use. MVNOs could choose to use the enablement platform offered by their infrastructure partner – called the direct or carrier-direct model – or use the services of a third-party MVNE (or build an enablement platform of their own).
Each choice comes with its own trade-offs. Few MVNOs choose to build their own platforms. However, another banking sector MVNO player, FNB Connect, has gone this route. This model gives FNB the most control over how its services are built and deployed, but start-up costs are higher and the initial time to market is longer, too.
Nedbank Connect uses the services of MVNX. Liebenberg said the choice to use a third-party MVNE gives the bank more choice and flexibility. “If we had to go direct [with a network operator], to bring something new to market would take months, whereas it will now only take weeks [with this model],” said Liebenberg.
Read: Absa is planning to launch an MVNO
MVNX’s portfolio includes 17 MVNOs, including Mr Price Mobile, Clientele Mobile and TFG Connect. Another banking sector MVNO, Standard Bank Connect, was initially launched on MVNX before moving migrating to a carrier-direct model with MTN.
“Our platform has a lot of capacity, so we can cater to millions of clients. We are also carrier agnostic, so our platform does not discriminate between fixed-wireless, fibre to the home or whatever product you want to use,” said MVNX CEO Valde Ferradaz.
“Nedbank was also looking for a partner that wasn’t tied to one particular operator. It’s important for brands to work with multiple carriers, or one or the other. Then they have the freedom to negotiate and move with the market. For example, if [low-Earth orbit] satellite communication comes along and it supersedes 4G, they have the option to move to that as a better service.”
Read: MVNO boom is reshaping South Africa’s mobile market
Nedbank has full-service retail banking operations in five South African Development Community countries other than South Africa: Namibia, Mozambique, Eswatini, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Further afield, it has a partnership with Ecobank spanning 39 countries in Central and West Africa. It also has a representative office in Kenya.
South Africa has the most vibrant MVNO market, with almost 30 operational virtual operators across the retail and banking industries, with smaller non-branded MVNOs also coming to the fore.
Nigeria in 2017 developed a policy framework for MVNOs and more than 40 licences have been issued since, but challenges with existing network capacity have proved to be a dampener on growth.
Kenya is another vibrant MVNO market, with forerunners like Equitel already offering 5G MVNO services. Many of the markets Nedbank operates in, however, still lack the legislative groundwork to support MVNO growth.
Just over a month after launch, Nedbank Connect has around 3 000 active subscribers in South Africa.
“Activations and enrolments are increasing daily as word-of-mouth spreads and people get to better understand the product,” said Liebenberg. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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