Africa’s largest mobile company, MTN Group, announced its plans to invest $1 billion in digital infrastructure in Ghana for five years.

After the Ghana Revenue Authority exempted the company’s Ghanaian business from $773 million in tax liabilities relating to the alleged under-declaration of revenue between 2014 and 2018, this action was taken.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita claims that despite the country’s present macroeconomic difficulties, the company is still dedicated to investing there. The company’s belief that 5G technology will spur growth in all industries will be the main focus of the investment.

This investment would help Ghana’s economy, which is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation as a result of capital outflows, issues with debt servicing, and a sharp decline in the value of the cedi. Consumer inflation was 53.6% in January over the same month last year, indicating that inflation is quite strong.

MTN’s investment in Ghana is part of its larger strategy to grow throughout Africa, which also includes Nigeria, where the business has been in talks with regulators about the introduction of payment services. 

The business also intends to boost its ownership in its Ethiopian division, where it hopes to raise $600 million through the sale of shares.