MTN is said to be moving toward acquiring Telecel, a local service provider, in order to capture the remaining African mobile markets. The announcement that MTN is entering Zimbabwe comes less than two months after the company said it was also entering the Angolan mobile market should the Angolan government approve a license.

Unlike other regional telecom sectors, Zimbabwe's telecom sector has remained stagnant over the past decade due to an unfriendly political situation that had scared away international or regional telecom investors. Currently, Zimbabwe has one of the worst communication networks in the region.

MTN spokesperson Nozipho January-Bardill said the company has always been looking for value-enhancing opportunities and Zimbabwe has presented one. Zimbabwe has three mobile-phone service providers: Econet, Telecel and NetOne. Telecel is 60 percent owned by Egyptian operator Orascom, which has already hinted that it would like to get out of Zimbabwe and concentrate on North Africa and the Middle East.

"Operating in Zimbabwe is high on our agenda," Bardill said.