The sixth stage of the Tour de France has been phenomenal for Africa and the Pan African telecommunications group MTN. Daniel Teklehaimanot (pictured), a cyclist in the MTN-Qhubeka team, became the first Eritrean and black sub-Saharan Africa racer to win the red polka-dot jersey, one of the distinctions of this competition.        

The end of the competition is still far, but for the cyclist this is a dream come true. “I cannot believe it, it was my dream as a kid to wear the polka-dot jersey of the Tour de France. Even for a day only. I think back in Eritrea, it will be a celebration for the whole country tonight”, he declared on the French media.

This victory is also something big for the MTN group, official sponsor of the first African team on what is affectionately referred to as the Grande Boucle. Its business logos were proudly visible on the tee-shirt and cap of the new king of the mountain. Quite a publicity feat for the operator, which is facing industrial unrest in South Africa.

MTN is not the first African company represented on the Tour de France. Long before the company, there was the South African group Barloworld, sponsor of the team of the same name, and of which racer Mauricio Soler even managed to be on the final podium with the best climber medal.

The value of the MTN share registered an increase of 1.4% at the end of trading day on Thursday on the Johannesburg stock market. It is however difficult to link both results. For a first attempt, the Tour de France has turned into a marketing masterstroke for MTN.