The chief executive of MTN-Irancell—the second-largest mobile telecoms business in Iran—told IRIB on April 20 that the company is actively seeking investment from expatriate Iranians.

MTN-Irancell has more than 50mn active users and has led the way in 4G mobile broadband in Iran since 2016. The network has 86%-mobile coverage of Iran, taking in 1,606 cities and towns. The group, backed by South Africa’s multinational MTN telco group, has also invested heavily in the applications market, with its biggest apps investment to date taking the form of a joint project with Rocket Internet that has created the Snapp! ride-hailing app.

The CEO, Bijan Abbasi Arand, said that MTN-Irancell was looking at opportunities to bring in foreign income including from expatriate finance and cited Snapp! as one of its success stories.

Abbasi Arand added that a subsidiary business has been created to facilitate foreign investment in the company and attract foreign capital. He added that the new entity is set up to support further investment in startups in the country.

Digital in health and education

He pointed to "health and education sectors" as important for MTN-Irancell, saying that the firm’s new approach is moving towards advancing digital services that improve people’s lives.

"Irancell's new approach is towards 'digital operator' and the development of digital services that will improve people's quality of life," he added.

The company has in recent years increased its investment in mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), signing deals with several companies, including SamanTel, Shatel Mobile and others.

However, despite significant investment in the industry the MVNO market has failed to take off in Iran.

An MVNO is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the mobile network infrastructure over which it provides services to customers but in fact pays a fee to the network operators.