Please review the following guidelines to ensure your advertisements comply with our policies.

1. Advance Fee Advertisement

• All ‘advance-fee type’ advertising or Advertisement requiring the End-User to make an upfront payment of a fee before any services are rendered or goods provided but unrelated to the actual provision of the services or goods, is prohibited. For example the requirement to pay an upfront fee (or membership fee,participation fee, administrative or handling fee, taxes) in advance of receiving any proceeds, money, stock, or warrants – in order for the deal to go through.

2. Alcohol

• Advertisements that provide information about, promote, or support the sale of alcoholic beverages or associated products only to the extent to which this is not prohibited by applicable laws, regulations and guidelines as well as social norms or concerns (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest in each jurisdiction as applicable to each MTN entity.
• Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of alcoholic beverages or associated products, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority or the age of licence (18 years old or the applicable age of majority/licence observed per OpCo), and should comply with local requirements regarding permitted times to advertise alcoholic beverages or associated products including brand provided age gateway and where applicable brand safe verification.

3. Animals

• No advertisement may contain anything that might reasonably be thought to encourage or condone cruelty or irresponsible behaviour towards animals.
• All animals featured in an advertisement should be well looked after and must not be harmed or distressed in the creation of the Advertisement. MTN recommends seeking the support of a veterinarian or other relevant expert to ensure that they are properly treated and cared for throughout production.

4. Behaviours

• Advertisements that include messages or images promoting alcohol consumption, smoking, drug-taking, eating disorders, the bullying and exploitation, or terrorism in alignment with local and/or international law. Other examples include but not limited to fake documents, hacking software, academic cheating services etc.

5. Competitor Products

• Advertisements must not promote directly competitive products against MTN where MTN holds a substantially equivalent telecommunications license.

6. Fear

• Advertisements must not use unjustified fear tactics without lawful reason.

7. Financial Advertising

• Advertisements for financial products or services should take special care to ensure that the public is fully aware of the nature of any commitment they may enter as a result of responding to the Advertisement. Advertisers should take note of the complexities of finance, and should not be seen to take advantage of the lack of experience, knowledge or trust of End-Users e.g. cloaking, arbitrage etc.

8. Free Offers

• Advertisements should not describe products as "free” if there is any cost payable by a consumer except for delivery or postage costs. If there are any costs relating to delivery and postage, it must be stated clearly in the Advertisement in-country relevant advertising bodies requirements.

9. Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual Interest (LGBTQ-I+)

• As per the country’s Advertising regulation and governing body.

10. Gambling & Sports Betting

• Advertisements that provide information about, promote, or support gambling or sports betting only to the extent to which this is not prohibited by applicable laws, regulations and guidelines as well as social norms or concerns (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest in each jurisdiction as applicable to each MTN entity are prohibited.
• Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of gambling or sports betting, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority or the age of licence (18 years old or the applicable age of majority/licence observed per OpCo), and should comply with local requirements regarding permitted times to advertise gambling or sports betting.
• See the ‘Sustainability/ESG considerations for Responsible Gambling extended beyond economic goals and regulatory compliance to include ethical conduct, social impact, human and children rights protection’ (available to MTN Group and its Employees upon request from the Sustainability team, Corporate Affairs) for additional guidelines to consider and requirements to comply with

11. Hostility Between Nations

• Advertisements that can lead to hostility between countries, such as currency pictures torn/cut/wrinkled, torn flag image or other similar manners.

12. Investment Non-Financial Institutions

• Any Advertisements for either seeking or providing funds / capital, unless placed by licensed financial services providers or licensed advisors or brokers or the publicly listed institutions (listed on the relevant stock exchange).
• Advertisements of investment products that offer business opportunities, the promise of return of capital, lending and borrowing or profit sharing, must clearly and fully state the nature and form of bidding and mention the possible risks faced by the public if they become the investors.
• Advertisements that offer capital accumulation should clearly state that capital accumulation is only done through the capital market.
• All advertisements soliciting funds for non-profit organizations must comply with applicable laws and regulations governing charitable solicitations. Advertisers must ensure that their fundraising activities are properly registered and authorized by the relevant regulatory bodies.

13. Legality

• Advertisements must not contain anything which might lead or lend support to criminal, anti-social or illegal activities, unethical, or appear to condone such activities.
• Promoting, selling, or advertising counterfeit products, including those that imitate or infringe upon the trademarks, trade dress, or branding of others are strictly prohibited. The sale or advertisement of counterfeit goods, or goods that could cause confusion with another brand’s products, is not permitted under any circumstances. e.g., passing off, counterfeit products etc.

14. Militancy And Extremist

• Advertisements that offer information about or promote or are sponsored by groups advocating anti-government., insurgency and terrorism.

15. Misleading Claims

• Advertisements should not contain any statements or visual presentations, which directly or by implication, omission, ambiguity or exaggeration is likely to mislead End-Users. Advertising must not take advantage of the good faith of our End-Users.

16. Mystical Content

• Any Advertisements related to mystic behaviour.

17. Non-Availability of Advertised Products

• Advertisements should not be published unless the advertiser has reasonable grounds for believing that any demand that is likely to be created by advertising can be met.

18. Nudity

• Advertisements that offer depictions of nude or semi-nude human forms including children, alone or in groups.

19. Offensive Advertising

• Advertisements should not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread or sectoral offence in each market it would be consumed in or accessed by End-Users. In considering whether an advertisement is offensive, the context, medium, likely audience, nature of the product or service, prevailing standards, degree of social concern (including local religious sensitivities) and public interest must be taken into account.

20. Political and Advocacy Advertising

• Advertisements that contain political content or which seek to promote a political view or a political party or which in any way could influence local politics or cause social division, especially during election periods, are prohibited. Guidance must also be had from the Group Political Contributions Policy (only accessible to MTN Group and its Employees) and related Group Policies.

21. Privacy

• Advertisements should not portray or refer to any living person(s) by whatever means unless their expressed prior written consent has been obtained. This excludes among others:
  1. Individuals that are shown in a crowd or background, provided (i) that the portrayal is not offensive; and (ii) this practice is permissible in terms of the Data Protection Laws in a particular market where the Advertisement will be consumed or accessed by End-Users.
  2. Portrayal of individuals who form part of the subject matter on advertisements for books, films, radio or television programs, press features, etc.
• Notwithstanding the above, guidance of privacy requirements must align with local data privacy and protection legislation and MTN’s data privacy and protection policies, procedures and practices and prevailing social standards.

22. Prohibited Drugs

• Advertisements that promote or provide information about the use of prohibited drugs (according to local law), as well as products associated with such use or abuse.

23. Racism And Hate

• Advertisements that promote the identification of racial – ethnical – religion – inter-group, the unfair criticism or subjection of groups, or the superiority of any group.

24. Safety

• Advertisements should not without justifiable reason, show any dangerous practices or situations e.g., self-harm, animal abuse, trading in endangered species etc.

25. Self-Employment Opportunities

• Advertisements for self-employment opportunities may not be phrased in a manner which is likely to lead to the opportunity being confused with part-time or fixed employment. Such advertisements may not require any money to be sent before full information about the self-employment opportunity is supplied to the End-User.

26. Sex

• Advertisements that depict or graphically describe sexual acts or activity, including exhibitionism, sale or business of sexual activity; erotica; sexual things; sex-oriented businesses as clubs, nightclubs, escort services; child pornography or the portrayal of children in sexual activity of any nature; adult products, such as pornography, sexually explicit products, toys and entertainment, products claiming to enhance sex, and other products and services of similar nature; also, Advertisements offering direct links to such sites.
• Advertisements with content which may be perceived as displaying sensuality and content that is not in accordance with social norms e.g., misleading or unrealistic claims etc.

27. Smoking / Vaping / Inhaling

• Advertisements for or about smoking or vaping or inhaling cigarettes, drugs or similar substance should not be advertised. Where the laws in a particular country allow for the advertising of smoking/vaping or inhaling, the Advertisements should be intended to audiences above the age of majority (of 18 years old, or the applicable age of majority observed per OpCo).
• The Advertisements should not:
  1. stimulate / encourage people to smoke;
  2. describe / suggest that smoking provides health benefits.

28. Trust

• An advertisement shall be framed so as not to abuse the trust of consumers or exploit their lack of experience or literacy level, always ensuring compliance with product-related and/or sector specific codes of conduct, standards, laws and regulations. Relevant factors likely to affect the decisions of consumers shall be communicated in such a way and at such times that consumers can take them into account.

29. Violence

• Advertisements that feature promote or support acts of violence or bodily harm, including self-inflicted harm; or that unreasonably display images of death, gore, or injury; or that feature images or descriptions that are frightening and of no redeeming value.