NSSF, Mbire reap windfall from MTN Uganda-led rally on USE

February 11, 2026 in Companies, Markets by Editor

A rally on the Uganda Securities Exchange has delivered sharp gains to major investors, with NSSF and businessman Charles Mbire emerging as the biggest beneficiaries of MTN Uganda’s eight-week share price surge.

 

A renewed rally on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) has delivered sharp gains to institutional and high-net-worth investors, with MTN Uganda once again emerging as a key driver of market momentum.

MTN Uganda shares have climbed strongly over the past eight weeks, rising from UGX312 on November 25, 2025 to UGX428 by February 6, 2026. The UGX116 per-share gain has significantly lifted the value of major portfolios and reinforced the telecom counter’s influence on overall market performance.

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF), MTN Uganda’s largest local shareholder, has been the biggest beneficiary of the rally. The pension fund holds 2.63 billion shares, representing a 10.7 percent stake in the company.

Over the eight-week period, the increase in MTN Uganda’s share price generated paper gains of about UGX305 billion for NSSF, equivalent to roughly USD85.7 million. This has pushed the total value of the fund’s MTN Uganda holding above the Shs1 trillion mark, now estimated atUGX1.13 trillion. The appreciation represents a notable boost to workers’ savings invested through the fund and underscores the growing role of equities in NSSF’s portfolio.

MTN Uganda board chair and businessman Charles Mbire has also recorded a substantial rise in the value of his investment. Mbire owns about 895.6 million shares, equivalent to a four percent stake in the company.

The rally has added approximately UGX103.9 billion to the value of his holding in just two months, lifting the total value of his MTN Uganda stake to about UGX383.3 billion, or roughly USD107.7 million.

MTN Uganda remains one of the most influential counters on the USE, and its recent price performance highlights how quickly value can be created when investor sentiment turns positive. For both institutional investors such as NSSF and large individual shareholders, the rally has reinforced the stock’s position as a core holding in the local market.

The latest surge mirrors a similar period of strong performance at the start of 2025, when sustained investor demand for telecom stocks pushed MTN Uganda’s valuation sharply higher. During that period, the company’s share price rose more than 70 percent within six months, briefly positioning it as the second most valuable listed company in East Africa behind Safaricom.

Analysts have previously attributed MTN Uganda’s resilience to a combination of solid earnings, regular dividend payouts and sustained institutional demand following the company’s secondary share offer in mid-2024, which was oversubscribed. The stock has also benefited from Uganda’s liberal foreign exchange regime, which allows for the repatriation of profits, a key consideration for large investors.

Beyond MTN Uganda, the rally has helped revive broader interest in equities on the USE, signalling improving confidence among investors after a period of subdued activity. While gains have been concentrated in a few heavyweight counters, market participants say the performance demonstrates the exchange’s potential to generate returns when liquidity and sentiment align.