Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had unwittingly echoed the deep vision that gave birth to the MTNF foundation in 2004; it was conceived with a clear focus to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Nigerians through a trifocal intervention in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment.

MTN Foundation distinguishes itself from many others in a number of respects:

Firstly, it confines itself to specific areas on engagement, to which it channels its funds and endeavors to develop programmes which are meaningful and sustainable. In other words, The Foundation was not set up to distribute adhoc donations, and court the attendant publicity.

The decision to concentrate on the areas of health, education and economic empowerment was based on output from a series of highly interactive sessions with NGO's, private and public sector leaders as well as community based organizations.

Secondly, the Foundation is in a truly unique position to give back to society on a sustainable basis. It enjoys 100% funding from MTN Nigeria, which gives it up to 1 percent of its post tax profits and covers all its overhead expenses including staffing, accommodation, travel, publicity and all expenses necessary to operate. Therefore, every kobo entering its coffers are put towards sustainable projects.

Thirdly, the Foundation carries out its work in partnership with Government, its agencies, and credible local and international development partners. This strategy ensures that the Foundation can leverage on the skills and expertise of existing agencies, which means that it can deploy its resources more efficiently, and to areas of real need.

The Government on their part has welcomed all the projects with open arms. , as the key objectives of the Foundation are in complete alignment with National development priorities, as contained in the NEEDS document, namely Health, Food security, and poverty alleviation.. On the international front, the aspirations of the Foundation are also in line with the sustainable business development agenda contained in NEPAD and the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

There is no doubt that the major focus areas of the Foundation are visionary, and represent an excellent assessment of the current and projected needs of the country at this stage in its development.

Fourthly, the Foundation and its work is a manifestation of an ethos, which draws its inspiration from its predecessor, which was established in South Africa by the MTN Group in 2001. Aside from the clear benefit of access to its predecessor's experience, it stands to reason that the Foundation will remain true to the deep-seated vision that gave birth to it.