Telefonica and MTN have signed a strategic partnership for cooperation across several areas, with a focus on M2M and enterprise.

The new agreement comes as part of the Telefonica Partners Program, which was spearheaded in 2011. Both partners will seek to “capture the new industry opportunities” across various technologies, including M2M, digital, B2B, devices, wholesale and procurement.

Operators across 35 markets are part of Telefonica’s Partners Program, with representation from Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. MTN is the first African partner in the initiative.

Herman Singh, MTN’s group chief digital officer, has stated that the partnership will drive innovation in developing new products and services for the market “as we move into the new digital world”.

The partners have also noted that they may move beyond the current remit of their partnership and pioneer initiatives in other fields such as mobile money and big data.