Adia Sowho, MTN Nigeria’s First Female CMO Resigns

Adia Sowho, the first female Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of MTN Nigeria, has resigned after a transformative three-year tenure.

Adia Sowho confirmed her departure from MTN Nigeria on her X bio, which has been updated to “ex-CMO @mtnng (~$4B rev).”

Ugonwa Nwoye, the current Chief Customer Relations Officer, will assume the role of acting CMO.

Track record

During her leadership at MTN Nigeria, she was instrumental in driving significant advancements in marketing strategies and operations, achieving over 20% year-on-year growth in the Consumer Business unit consistently. 

Her era also saw a 50% increase in data segment growth and the pioneering launch of 5G services, marking MTN as the first Nigerian telecom company to introduce this technology.

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Adia Sowho focused on partnerships with OTT providers and OEMs to enhance smartphone adoption and promote affordable device ownership, which expanded MTN’s customer base and supported the development of an inclusive digital economy. 

Before MTN

Prior to her position at MTN Nigeria, Sowho built a commendable career beginning as a Radio Frequency Engineer at US Cellular Corporation, and later as a management consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP. 

She then entered the Nigerian telecom sector with Etisalat Nigeria, now known as 9mobile. Then, she joined Migo Nigeria, a lending platform, where she led the introduction of instant lending solutions, facilitating up to 10,000 loans per day.

Also, Adia Sowho’s work at ThriveAgric earned the company a spot as one of the fastest-growing companies according to the Financial Times in 2024.