MTN Uganda's 25th Anniversary: A Personal Reflection on My Journey as an Employee

 

Written by Primera Muthoni


What a great way to end the month of October! I have thought of writing this blog the whole month, but I had to meet up with my friend Amos for lunch to take the final step. In October, MTN Uganda celebrated its 25th anniversary. October is also an important month for me because it's when I started working at MTN 14 years ago. When I think about my life as an adult after university, I realise that my whole life was shaped there. I am so thankful for all the wonderful memories and opportunities I had there.




I had a meeting at the MTN office last Friday morning. After the meeting, I asked a former coworker, Hellen Ajambo to take me another part of the building (you can't walk around without an access card), and she kindly told me to use the main entrances because I would need a whole day to walk through all the departments greeting everyone. This tells you this is home for me, so trust me when I say this journey was nothing short of amazing for me. I would like to take a moment to share some of the best parts of my time working at MTN Uganda.


From day one, despite the intimidating building, brand, and people, I knew I was entering an organisation that values its employees and offers an exceptional work environment. It must have been the HR onboarding or the smiling faces in the corridors; I remember everyone I joined with, and I remember us seated together in the boardroom, getting my first “real smartphone,” a Nokia E63, and an MTN SIM card (the only one I still use to date). The warmth and welcoming atmosphere that greeted me from the moment I walked through the doors made me feel like I was part of a family rather than just another employee.  


One of the things that has made my journey at MTN Uganda truly remarkable is the incredible ability of the HR team and supervisors to see beyond just roles, but who lets an engineer become a marketer too? Imagine how effortless it was to convince HR and my supervisor that I could do it.

Thank you for listening to me; it totally changed the course of my life and career.  Thank you to my supervisor, Dennis Musinguzi, who let me work on so many projects and taught me so much about leading others and myself with empathy.

Our first Girls for Girls Cohort and the first Mentorship Cohort I led with Catherine Namara. 


MTN Uganda provided me with numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth. The company's dedication to continuous learning and development is evident in the numerous training programmes, online learning, and mentorship opportunities that they offer. I have nearly 100 certificates, and I am embarrassed to add them to my CV. All the same, the knowledge is applied every single day. In addition, I have a Masters degree, a certificate in marketing, a diploma in marketing, and a postgraduate diploma in Marketing . Okay, maybe I pushed this education thing too far,  but I had everything I needed to do it; you need to work there to know what I mean. 



And there were many fun days with Hellen and Godfrey 

I cannot forget the constant conversations on values. I joined as a young graduate trainee and left much older, and the values of MTN became part of who I am today, and I still find myself reciting them.

I cannot explain the growth; I take on new challenges and have advanced in my career in ways I could never have imagined. On the outside, by choice, I am excited about the constant growth of the Y'ello family.


And there were many fun days with Sheila and Godfrey 

MTN Uganda's commitment to diversity and inclusion has allowed me to never feel out of place as a young engineer. Yes, there were fewer ladies in the engineering department, but boy, oh boy,  no one ever gave me less work because I was female; no one even saw it. My supervisor, Simon, never saw gender; we were a small team, though, and we all did what we were supposed to do. 


I have had the privilege of working on fascinating projects, contributing to cutting-edge solutions, and being a part of a team that is excellence-driven. I wish I could explain them all. I would need a couple of months to be able to compress them all.  Every time I get to a MoMo agent, I say MTN, of course, and for some reason, I keep expecting them to see the Y'ello family blood in me. The pride I feel when I see the positive impact of our work on the telecom industry and the lives of our customers is truly immeasurable.


21 days of Y'ello Care with Martha and Mavis

As I look back at my journey at MTN Uganda, I am particularly proud of the accomplishments I have been able to achieve as a team and on my own. The support and encouragement from my colleagues and supervisors have played a significant role in my success.


To end this story for now, my journey as an employee at MTN Uganda was a fulfilling and enriching experience. The sense of belonging, the dedication to social responsibility, the commitment to personal and professional growth, and the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the telecommunications industry have made this journey truly exceptional. I am excited to see what the future holds and am grateful for the chance to be a part of the MTN Uganda family. Here's to many more years of success, growth, and making a difference!


Happy 25 years to MTN Uganda!


Memories of late-night product testing sessions with Rachel and working on hackathons together



My name is Primera Muthoni, and I enjoy supporting entrepreneurs by helping them navigate and adopt technology to accelerate business growth.

Business Consultant at Analytics Business Centre and Associate Consultant (Uganda Management Institute)





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