MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has restructured its youth market engagement strategy with the official launch of its Live It 100 campaign, a multi-sector initiative aimed at embedding the telecommunications giant directly into Nigeria’s digital gig economy. Developed in partnership with The Gathering, a youth culture platform, the campaign kicked off with a 100-hour continuous experiential incubation hub at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
Moving away from traditional corporate branding strategies that rely heavily on celebrity endorsements and passive consumer advertising, the initiative functions as a functional micro-venture platform. The event brought together thousands of digital creators, software developers, esports players, and indie businesses to collaborate, network, and compete for institutional growth capital.
1. Structural Venture Support: Dismantling the Seed Capital Gap
The central component of the 100-hour event was a competitive startup pitch platform featuring 30 early-stage, youth-led companies. These businesses presented their business models, customer acquisition data, and software prototypes to a panel of corporate venture analysts.
At the close of the trials, MTN Nigeria distributed ₦45 million in equity-free grants to high-performing startups addressing critical gaps in local industries:
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HubPharm Africa (Healthtech): Secured the top grand prize of ₦15 million to scale its digital pharmacy supply chain and drug verification software.
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Coconoto Ltd. (Agribusiness/Logistics): Awarded a secondary growth tranche to expand its automated crop processing and distribution networks.
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Rava Send (Fintech): Captured capital support to optimize its cross-border peer-to-peer payment application and multi-currency billing APIs.
2. Shifting Corporate Marketing Budgets to Community Investment
According to MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola, the strategy marks a deliberate choice to step back and let youth innovators drive the conversation. “The Gathering is the fire; MTN is the oxygen,” Toriola stated, explaining that the company’s focus has evolved from pushing product features to providing the baseline infrastructure and capital that young businesses need to thrive.
3. Capturing Long-Term Value in the Youth Economy
Supporting this view, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Marketing Officer, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, noted that traditional business engagement methods often fail to connect with a younger generation that values transparency and concrete opportunities over conventional marketing. By giving young entrepreneurs the autonomy to design and lead the experience, MTN is shifting its marketing budget from simple promotional costs into a productive investment in the local digital economy.
With over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population under the age of 25, the Live It 100 platform serves as a repeatable corporate blueprint for sustainable community engagement. By combining fintech innovation, healthtech support, and creative sector tools into a single, cohesive campaign, the telecommunications firm is cementing its role as a key infrastructure provider for the next wave of Africa’s digital builders.
