South Africa’s largest telecoms firm, MTN, will close its Black Economic Empowerment investment vehicle, Zakhele Futhi, on 28 July 2025, marking the end of a nine-year initiative aimed at broadening economic inclusion for Black South Africans.

MTNZF shareholders will receive a total payout of $1.10 per share—the value of their initial investment—along with modest gains of between $0.11 and $0.17 per share. The scheme, launched in 2016, allowed South Africans to acquire equity in MTN as part of the company’s efforts to meet BEE requirements without ceding direct ownership.

South Africa enforces one of the world’s most stringent BEE frameworks, requiring foreign and local companies alike to either sell 30% of their local ownership or offer meaningful economic participation opportunities to historically disadvantaged groups. In the telecom sector, this has prompted firms like MTN to create structured schemes that meet the policy’s equity objectives.

MTNZF followed the success of MTN Zakhele, a similar initiative launched in 2010 that delivered significantly higher returns—around R77 per share—when it matured in 2016. But market turbulence affected MTNZF’s performance. While the fund was initially expected to close earlier, it remained open longer than planned due to MTN’s depressed share price in 2024, which would have made it difficult to repay investors fairly.

With a recovery in MTN’s financial position and share price in 2025, the company says it has now settled debts and set aside adequate funds to close the fund. MTNZF will be delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange after final investor settlements are completed.

As MTN prepares to wind down the fund, industry watchers are speculating whether a new BEE scheme might emerge in its place—especially as the company continues to navigate the country’s economic empowerment mandates.