MTN officially launched its new black empowerment share scheme in South Africa, with the offer period running from today (12 September) to 21 October.

Named MTN Zakhele Futhi, it gives qualifying members of the South African public the opportunity to apply for up to 123,416,819 shares in the investment vehicle, at ZAR20 ($1.50) per share, with ZAR2,000 the minimum investment amount required.

MTN Zakhele Futhi is valued at ZAR9.9 billion in total, and will hold approximately 4 per cent of MTN Group equity.

The company hopes the new scheme will help it meet an indirect black ownership in excess of 30 per cent of its South Africa operations.

This threshold is necessary for companies to participate in a planned spectrum auction next year, although notably, the auction process is subject to conflict between the national regulator and the government.

MTN Zakhele Futhi will replace MTN Zakhele, a similar investment vehicle which will be unwound in November.

Existing investors will be able to reinvest a portion of their shares in the new scheme, the company has said.

In a post on Twitter, MTN today reiterated that the empowerment scheme is “designed to offer the black public an opportunity for long-term and sustainable benefits. MTN Zakhele Futhi demonstrates MTN’s commitment to the fundamentals and empowerment in South Africa”.