By now, most Mandela Day campaigns follow a familiar script: brief acts of corporate kindness, obligatory photos, and promises to “give back.” MTN Group Fintech’s 2025 version initially sounds like more of the same. But a closer look reveals a more layered approach.
This year’s MTN Group Fintech Mandela Day initiative includes the donation of hygiene care packages to five Unjani Clinics, a national network of nurse-run primary care centres in South Africa. The packages contain menstrual health products and hygiene essentials, but they point to a deeper story about access, infrastructure and dignity.
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“We’re not just addressing a supply gap,” says Nikiwe Tanga, Chief Legal Officer at MTN Group Fintech. “We’re responding to a deeper kind of inequality.”
The five clinics—located in Rietvallei, Newlands, Pimville, Lenasia Ext 10 and Fleurhof—were chosen not only for logistics, but because of the critical roles they play in communities where public health infrastructure is limited.
The decision to focus on menstrual health is deliberate. For many girls and women in South Africa, period poverty quietly shapes whether they can attend school, go to work, or fully participate in public life. It is a social issue often treated as a private matter. By addressing it, MTN is not only distributing essential products. It is asking more fundamental questions about what inclusion really means.
Over the last few years, MTN’s digital financial services division has been expanding through its MoMo platform. What started as mobile money is now an evolving ecosystem of payments, lending and merchant tools. This campaign suggests that MTN views access more broadly. It is not only about financial tools, but about building the real-world conditions that support meaningful participation.
That is where Unjani Clinics come in. Founded in 2010, the clinics operate on a hybrid model. They are privately funded and publicly useful. Their nurse-led setup allows them to function in areas the public sector often overlooks. They also present a quiet challenge to both government and industry. If this model works, why isn’t it being replicated at scale?
“Menstrual health is healthcare. And healthcare is infrastructure,” says Lynda Toussaint, CEO of Unjani Clinics. “We need to stop thinking of these issues as peripheral.”
The campaign, which uses the theme Uplifting Lives Through Care, may not generate the same media buzz as a fintech product launch. However, it signals a change in approach. MTN is positioning itself as a player in broader systems of care and access, not only as a digital service provider.
This also reflects a shift in how fintech firms are measuring impact, especially in African markets. Products alone are no longer enough. Companies are competing on relevance and trust, which increasingly depend on how embedded they are in real social contexts.
Yes, it’s a care package. But it is also a signal that fintech companies may need to do more than scale platforms. They might need to build or support the structures that give those platforms meaning.
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