Clydestone Ghana Plc has filed a lawsuit against MTN Ghana, parent MTN Group Ltd. and MobileMoney Fintech Ltd., alleging the telecoms giant used proprietary work it commissioned in 2007 to build its mobile-money business without authorization or compensation.
The case, filed 27 July in the Commercial Division of the High Court of Ghana, centers on a “comprehensive commercial and operational framework” that Clydestone says it developed for MTN Ghana’s launch of mobile money.
Clydestone is seeking declarations, damages and other equitable remedies.
Delayed action
Clydestone said it only decided to sue this year after new data made the scale of the business public.
Citing MTN Ghana’s 2025 Annual Report and the GSMA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report, the company pointed to about 19.3 million active mobile-money users in Ghana and annual revenue of about 6 billion cedis.
The GSMA report also ranked Ghana as the world’s top market for mobile money.
“From 2009 to 2025 there was no publicly available information” to assess the platform’s deployment, Clydestone said in a regulatory filing dated 28 July.
The company said it had received “neither payment nor acknowledgment” from any defendant since December 2007.
IP and contract questions
The dispute raises questions over intellectual property ownership in early-stage fintech consulting.
Clydestone said the 2007 engagement was done on the understanding that a Non-Disclosure Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding would be signed, but that those documents were “never executed despite repeated requests.”
There are suggestions that the court will likely test what exactly Clydestone delivered, whether it constituted protectable IP, and whether MTN had an implied license to use it.
The company also alleges that elements of the framework were later deployed in other African markets.
Paul Jacquaye, Clydestone’s founder and group chief executive, said in the statement the suit was “about accountability for commissioned intellectual property.”
“We have therefore placed the matter before the High Court of Ghana, where it will be determined on the evidence and in accordance with the law,” he said.
Market context
Mobile money has become a core revenue driver for MTN across Africa.
In Ghana, MTN MoMo dominates the market and has been a key pillar of the company’s fintech growth strategy.
Clydestone, listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange since 2004, said the lawsuit would not affect its operations, customers or ongoing business.
The company is represented by NT & Co, Abrasamadu Chambers.
The board said the action had the support of the company’s majority shareholder and all necessary approvals had been obtained.
Source: asaaserario.com
