Clydestone Ghana Sues MTN Ghana Over Alleged Unauthorised Use of Mobile Money IP

• Clydestone Ghana Plc has sued MTN Ghana, claiming ownership of the mobile money intellectual property
• The listed company claims MTN commissioned it in 2007 to develop a full commercial and operational framework for launching a mobile money business in Ghana
• Clydestone alleges its proprietary work was deployed across MTN Mobile Money Ghana and multiple African jurisdictions

Clydestone Ghana Plc has taken legal action against MTN Ghana, MTN Group Limited and MobileMoney Fintech Limited, alleging that its proprietary intellectual property was used without permission or payment over a period spanning nearly two decades.

The Ghana Stock Exchange-listed company confirmed the filing through a regulatory submission, stating that a writ of summons and statement of claim were lodged on 27 July 2026 at the Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra.

Graphic Online reported that Clydestone's claim traces back to 2007, when it alleges MTN commissioned the company to develop a comprehensive framework for launching a mobile money business in Ghana.

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That body of work, which the company says was personally authored by its founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Jacquaye, covered the commercial model, operational architecture, implementation methodology and supporting business case for a full mobile money ecosystem.

According to Clydestone, the engagement was carried out on the understanding that a non-disclosure agreement and memorandum of understanding would be formalised.

The company says neither document was ever signed despite repeated requests, and that MTN proceeded to use the commissioned work, commercial methodology and operational intelligence without any authorisation or payment.

Clydestone further contends that components of the operational architecture and commercial model it developed can be found in what later became MTN Mobile Money Ghana, and that elements of the same work were subsequently deployed across several other African markets.

Although MTN Mobile Money Ghana launched in 2009, Clydestone said it did not have independently verifiable evidence of the full commercial scale of the platform until 2026.

Two publications prompted the company to act: the GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 and MTN Ghana's 2025 annual report.

The latter disclosed approximately 19.3 million active Mobile Money users and annual revenue of roughly GH¢6 billion.

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Following the publication of those reports, Clydestone reviewed its complete contemporaneous documentary record from the 2007 engagement and concluded there were sufficient grounds to proceed to court.

Pre-action correspondence issued by the company's legal counsel in 2026 received no substantive response from any of the three defendants.

Clydestone has claimed it has received neither payment nor acknowledgement from any defendant since December 2007.

What Clydestone is seeking?

The company is pursuing declarations, damages, equitable remedies and any further orders the court considers appropriate.

Clydestone's Board of Directors unanimously authorised the commencement of proceedings.

The company also confirmed that the litigation has no bearing on its operations, customers or ongoing business activities.

Source: YEN.com.gh